Electrostatic interactions mediated by polarizable counterions: weak and strong coupling limits
arXiv:1208.6209 · doi:10.1063/1.4763986
Abstract
We investigate the statistical mechanics of an inhomogeneous Coulomb fluid composed of charged particles with static polarizability. We derive the weak- and the strong-coupling approximations and evaluate the partition function in a planar dielectric slab geometry with charged boundaries. We investigate the density profiles and the disjoining pressure for both approximations. Comparison to the case of non-polarizable counterions shows that polarizability brings important differences in the counterion density distribution as well as the counterion mediated electrostatic interactions between charged dielectric interfaces.
25 pages, 7 figures