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B. Jancovici

Publications and source records attributed to B. Jancovici.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Correlations and sum rules in a half-space for a quantum two-dimensional one-component plasma

This paper is the continuation of a previous one [L. {Š}amaj and B. Jancovici, 2007 {\it J. Stat. Mech.} P02002]; for a nearly classical quantum fluid in a half-space bounded by a plain plane hard wall (no image forces), we had generalized the Wigner-Kirkwood expansion of the equilibrium statistical quantities in powers of Planck's constant $\hbar$. As a model system for a more detailed study, we consider the quantum two-dimensional one-component plasma: a system of charged particles of one species, interacting through the logarithmic Coulomb potential in two dimensions, in a uniformly charged background of opposite sign, such that the total charge vanishes. The corresponding classical system is exactly solvable in a variety of geometries, including the present one of a half-plane, when $βe^2=2$, where $β$ is the inverse temperature and $e$ is the charge of a particle: all the classical $n$-body densities are known. For the quantum one-component plasma, two sum rules involving the truncated two-body density (and, for one of them, the density profile) have been derived, a long time ago, by heuristic macroscopic arguments: one sum rule is about the asymptotic form along the wall of the truncated two-body density, the other one is about the dipole moment of the structure factor. In the two-dimensional case at $βe^2=2$, we have now explicit expressions up to order $\hbar^2$ of these two quantum densities, thus we can microscopically check the sum rules at this order. The checks are positive, reinforcing the idea that the sum rules are correct.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Wigner-Kirkwood expansion for semi-infinite quantum fluids

For infinite (bulk) quantum fluids of particles interacting via pairwise sufficiently smooth interactions, the Wigner-Kirkwood formalism provides a semiclassical expansion of the Boltzmann density in configuration space in even powers of the thermal de Broglie wavelength $λ$. This result permits one to generate an analogous $λ$-expansion for the bulk free energy and many-body densities. The present paper brings a technically nontrivial generalization of the Wigner-Kirkwood technique to semi-infinite quantum fluids, constrained by a plane hard wall impenetrable to particles. In contrast to the bulk case, the resulting Boltzmann density involves also position-dependent terms of type $\exp(-2x^2/λ^2)$ ($x$ denotes the distance from the wall boundary) which are non-analytic in $λ$. Under some condition, the analyticity in $λ$ is restored by integrating the Boltzmann density over configuration space; however, in contrast to the bulk free energy, the semiclassical expansion of the surface part of the free energy (surface tension) contains odd powers of $λ$, too. Explicit expressions for the leading quantum corrections in the presence of the boundary are given for the one-body and two-body densities. As model systems for explicit calculations, we use Coulomb fluids, in particular the one-component plasma defined in the $ν$-dimensional (integer $ν\ge 2$) space.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Electric-field correlations in quantum charged fluids coupled to the radiation field

In a recent paper [S.El Boustani, P.R.Buenzli, and Ph.A.Martin, Phys.Rev. E 73, 036113 (2006) cond-mat/0511537], about quantum charges in equilibrium with radiation, among other things the asymptotic form of the electric-field correlation has been obtained by a microscopic calculation. It has been found that this correlation has a long-range algebraic decay (except in the classical limit). The macroscopic approach, in the Course of Theoretical Physics of Landau and Lifshitz, gives no such long-range algebraic decay. In this Brief Report, we revisit and complete the macroscopic approach of Landau and Lifshitz, we confirm their result, and suggest that, perhaps, the use of a classical electromagnetic field by El Boustani et al. was not justified.

cond-mat.stat-mech

A van der Waals free energy in electrolytes revisited

A system of three electrolytes separated by two parallel planes is considered. Each region is described by a dielectric constant and a Coulomb fluid in the Debye-Hückel regime. In their book Dispersion Forces, Mahanty and Ninham have given the van der Waals free energy of this system. We rederive this free energy by a different method, using linear response theory and the electrostatic Maxwell stress tensor for obtaining the dispersion force.

cond-mat.soft

"Screening" of universal van der Waals - Casimir terms by Coulomb gases in a fully-finite two-dimensional geometry

This paper is a continuation of a previous one [Jancovici and Samaj, 2004 J. Stat. Mech. P08006] dealing with classical Casimir phenomena in semi-infinite wall geometries. In that paper, using microscopic Coulomb systems, the long-ranged Casimir force due to thermal fluctuations in conducting walls was shown to be screened by the presence of an electrolyte between the walls into some residual short-ranged force. Here, we aim to extend the study of the screening (cancellation) phenomena to universal Casimir terms appearing in the large-size expansions of the grand potentials for microscopic Coulomb systems confined in fully-finite 2D geometries, in particular the disc geometry. Two cases are solved exactly: the high-temperature (Debye-Hückel) limit and the Thirring free-fermion point. Similarities and fundamental differences between fully-finite and semi-infinite geometries are pointed out.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Charge Fluctuations for a Coulomb Fluid in a Disk on a Pseudosphere

The classical (i.e. non-quantum) equilibrium statistical mechanics of a Coulomb fluid living on a pseudosphere (an infinite surface of constant negative curvature) is considered. The Coulomb fluid occupies a large disk communicating with a reservoir (grand-canonical ensemble). The total charge $Q$ on the disk fluctuates. In a macroscopic description, the charge correlations near the boundary circle can be described as correlations of a surface charge density $σ$. In a macroscopic approach, the variance of $Q$ and the correlation function of $σ$ are computed; they are universal. These macroscopic results are shown to be valid for two solvable microscopic models, in the limit when the microscopic thickness of the surface charge density goes to zero.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Screening of classical Casimir forces by electrolytes in semi-infinite geometries

We study the electrostatic Casimir effect and related phenomena in equilibrium statistical mechanics of classical (non-quantum) charged fluids. The prototype model consists of two identical dielectric slabs in empty space (the pure Casimir effect) or in the presence of an electrolyte between the slabs. In the latter case, it is generally believed that the long-ranged Casimir force due to thermal fluctuations in the slabs is screened by the electrolyte into some residual short-ranged force. The screening mechanism is based on a "separation hypothesis": thermal fluctuations of the electrostatic field in the slabs can be treated separately from the pure image effects of the "inert" slabs on the electrolyte particles. In this paper, by using a phenomenological approach under certain conditions, the separation hypothesis is shown to be valid. The phenomenology is tested on a microscopic model in which the conducting slabs and the electrolyte are modelled by the symmetric Coulomb gases of point-like charges with different particle fugacities. The model is solved in the high-temperature Debye-Hückel limit (in two and three dimensions) and at the free fermion point of the Thirring representation of the two-dimensional Coulomb gas. The Debye-Hückel theory of a Coulomb gas between dielectric walls is also solved.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Pressures for a One-Component Plasma on a Pseudosphere

The classical (i.e. non-quantum) equilibrium statistical mechanics of a two-dimensional one-component plasma (a system of charged point-particles embedded in a neutralizing background) living on a pseudosphere (an infinite surface of constant negative curvature) is considered. In the case of a flat space, it is known that, for a one-component plasma, there are several reasonable definitions of the pressure, and that some of them are not equivalent to each other. In the present paper, this problem is revisited in the case of a pseudosphere. General relations between the different pressures are given. At one special temperature, the model is exactly solvable in the grand canonical ensemble. The grand potential and the one-body density are calculated in a disk, and the thermodynamic limit is investigated. The general relations between the different pressures are checked on the solvable model.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Microscopic Calculation of the Dielectric Susceptibility Tensor for Coulomb Fluids II

For a Coulomb system contained in a domain Λ, the dielectric susceptibility tensor χ_Λ is defined as relating the average polarization in the system to a constant applied electric field, in the linear limit. According to the phenomenological laws of macroscopic electrostatics, χ_Λ depends on the specific shape of the domain Λ. In this paper we derive, using the methods of equilibrium statistical mechanics in both canonical and grand-canonical ensembles, the shape dependence of χ_Λ and the corresponding finite-size corrections to the thermodynamic limit, for a class of general ν-dimensional (ν\ge 2) Coulomb systems, of ellipsoidal shape, being in the conducting state. The microscopic derivation is based on a general principle: the total force acting on a system in thermal equilibrium is zero. The results are checked in the Debye-Hückel limit. The paper is a generalization of a previous one [L. Šamaj, J. Stat. Phys. 100:949 (2000)], dealing with the special case of a one-component plasma in two dimensions. In that case, the validity of the presented formalism has already been verified at the exactly solvable (dimensionless) coupling Γ= 2.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Generation of Primordial Cosmological Perturbations from Statistical Mechanical Models

The initial conditions describing seed fluctuations for the formation of structure in standard cosmological models, i.e.the Harrison-Zeldovich distribution, have very characteristic ``super-homogeneous'' properties: they are statistically translation invariant, isotropic, and the variance of the mass fluctuations in a region of volume V grows slower than V. We discuss the geometrical construction of distributions of points in ${\bf R}^3$ with similar properties encountered in tiling and in statistical physics, e.g. the Gibbs distribution of a one-component system of charged particles in a uniform background (OCP). Modifications of the OCP can produce equilibrium correlations of the kind assumed in the cosmological context. We then describe how such systems can be used for the generation of initial conditions in gravitational $N$-body simulations.

astro-ph

Surface correlations for two-dimensional Coulomb fluids in a disc

After a brief review of previous work, two exactly solvable two-dimensional models of a finite Coulomb fluid in a disc are studied. The charge correlation function near the boundary circle is computed. When the disc radius is large compared to the bulk correlation length, a correlation function of the surface charge density can be defined. It is checked, on the solvable models, that this correlation function does have the generic long-range behaviour, decaying as the inverse square distance, predicted by macroscopic electrostatics. In the case of a two-component plasma (Coulomb fluid made of two species of particles of opposite charges), the density correlation function on the boundary circle itself is conjectured to have a temperature-independent behaviour, decaying as the -4 power of the distance.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Charge Fluctuations in Finite Coulomb Systems

When described in a grand canonical ensemble, a finite Coulomb system exhibits charge fluctuations. These fluctuations are studied in the case of a classical (i.e. non-quantum) system with no macroscopic average charge. Assuming the validity of macroscopic electrostatics gives, on a three-dimensional finite large conductor of volume $V$, a mean square charge $ $ which goes as $V^{1/3}$. More generally, in a short-circuited capacitor of capacitance $C$, made of two conductors, the mean square charge on one conductor is $ =TC$, where $T$ is the temperature and $C$ the capacitance of the capacitor. The case of only one conductor in the grand canonical ensemble is obtained by removing the other conductor to infinity. The general formula is checked in the weak-coupling (Debye-Hückel) limit for a spherical capacitor. For two-dimensional Coulomb systems (with logarithmic interactions), there are exactly solvable models which reveal that, in some cases, macroscopic electrostatics is not applicable even for large conductors. This is when the charge fluctuations involve only a small number of particles. The mean square charge on one two-dimensional system alone, in the grand canonical ensemble, is expected to be, at most, one squared elementary charge.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Density Correlations in the Two-Dimensional Coulomb Gas

We consider a two-dimensional Coulomb gas of positive and negative pointlike unit charges interacting via a logarithmic potential. The density (rather than the charge) correlation functions are studied. In the bulk, the form-factor theory of an equivalent sine-Gordon model is used to determine the density correlation length. At the surface of a rectilinear plain wall, the universality of the asymptotic behavior of the density correlations is suggested. A scaling analysis implies a local form of the compressibility sum rule near a hard wall. A symmetry of the Coulomb system with respect to the Möbius conformal transformation, which induces a gravitational source acting on the particle density, is established. Among the consequences, a universal term of the finite-size expansion of the grand potential is derived exactly for a disk geometry of the confining domain.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Charge Correlations in a Coulomb System Along a Plane Wall: a Relation Between Asymptotic Behavior and Dipole Moment

Classical Coulomb systems at equilibrium, bounded by a plane dielectric wall, are studied. A general two-point charge correlation function is considered. Valid for any fixed position of one of the points, a new relation is found between the algebraic tail of the correlation function along the wall and the dipole moment of that function. The relation is tested first in the weak-coupling (Debye-Hückel) limit, and afterwards, for the special case of a plain hard wall, on the exactly solvable two-dimensional two-component plasma at coupling $Γ=2$, and on the two-dimensional one-component plasma at an arbitrary even integer $Γ$.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Large-Distance Behavior of Particle Correlations in the Two-Dimensional Two-Component Plasma

The model under consideration is a two-dimensional two-component plasma, i.e., a continuous system of two species of pointlike particles of opposite charges $\pm 1$, interacting through the logarithmic Coulomb interaction. Using the exact results for the form-factors of an equivalent Euclidean sine-Gordon theory, we derive the large-distance behavior of the pair correlation functions between charged particles. This asymptotic behavior is checked on a few lower orders of its $β$-expansion ($β$ is the inverse temperature) around the Debye-Hückel limit $β\to 0$, and at the free-fermion point $β= 2$ at which the collapse of positive-negative pairs of charges occurs.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Coulomb Systems with Ideal Dielectric Boundaries: Free Fermion Point and Universality

A two-component Coulomb gas confined by walls made of ideal dielectric material is considered. In two dimensions at the special inverse temperature $β= 2$, by using the Pfaffian method, the system is mapped onto a four-component Fermi field theory with specific boundary conditions. The exact solution is presented for a semi-infinite geometry of the dielectric wall (the density profiles, the correlation functions) and for the strip geometry (the surface tension, a finite-size correction of the grand potential). The universal finite-size correction of the grand potential is shown to be a consequence of the good screening properties, and its generalization is derived for the conducting Coulomb gas confined in a slab of arbitrary dimension $\ge 2$ at any temperature.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Surface Tension of a Metal-Electrolyte Boundary: Exactly Solvable Model

An ideal conductor electrode in contact with a semi-infinite two-dimensional two-component plasma in an external potential is considered. The model is mapped onto an integrable sine-Gordon theory with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The information gained from the mapping provides an explicit form of the surface tension in the plasma-stability regime.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Pressure and Stress Tensor in a Yukawa Fluid

Systems of particles interacting through a screened Coulomb potential of the Debye-Yukawa form are considered. The pressure is obtained from the stress tensor of the field corresponding to the Yukawa interaction, by a suitable statistical average. This approach is especially appropriate for systems living in a curved space. In a curved space, a self contribution to the pressure appears, and it is essential to take it into account for retrieving a correct pressure when the Yukawa interaction tends to the Coulomb interaction.

cond-mat.stat-mech