Field theory of structured liquid dielectrics

We develop a field-theoretic approach for the treatment of both the nonlocal and the nonlinear response of structured liquid dielectrics. Our systems of interest are composed of dipolar solvent molecules and simple salt cations and anions. We describe them by two independent order parameters, the po...

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Main Authors: Ralf Blossey, Rudolf Podgornik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2022-04-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.023033
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author Ralf Blossey
Rudolf Podgornik
author_facet Ralf Blossey
Rudolf Podgornik
author_sort Ralf Blossey
collection DOAJ
description We develop a field-theoretic approach for the treatment of both the nonlocal and the nonlinear response of structured liquid dielectrics. Our systems of interest are composed of dipolar solvent molecules and simple salt cations and anions. We describe them by two independent order parameters, the polarization field for the solvent and the charge-density field for the ions, including and treating the nonelectrostatic part of the interactions explicitly and consistently. We show how to derive functionals for the polarization and the electrostatic field of increasingly finer scales and solve the resulting mean-field saddle-point equations in the linear regime. We derive criteria for the character of their solutions that depend on the structural lengths and the polarity of the solvent. Our approach provides a systematic way to derive generalized polarization theories.
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spelling doaj.art-210dd2c3fc6545d7a24903e106d023142024-04-12T17:19:48ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642022-04-014202303310.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.023033Field theory of structured liquid dielectricsRalf BlosseyRudolf PodgornikWe develop a field-theoretic approach for the treatment of both the nonlocal and the nonlinear response of structured liquid dielectrics. Our systems of interest are composed of dipolar solvent molecules and simple salt cations and anions. We describe them by two independent order parameters, the polarization field for the solvent and the charge-density field for the ions, including and treating the nonelectrostatic part of the interactions explicitly and consistently. We show how to derive functionals for the polarization and the electrostatic field of increasingly finer scales and solve the resulting mean-field saddle-point equations in the linear regime. We derive criteria for the character of their solutions that depend on the structural lengths and the polarity of the solvent. Our approach provides a systematic way to derive generalized polarization theories.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.023033
spellingShingle Ralf Blossey
Rudolf Podgornik
Field theory of structured liquid dielectrics
Physical Review Research
title Field theory of structured liquid dielectrics
title_full Field theory of structured liquid dielectrics
title_fullStr Field theory of structured liquid dielectrics
title_full_unstemmed Field theory of structured liquid dielectrics
title_short Field theory of structured liquid dielectrics
title_sort field theory of structured liquid dielectrics
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.023033
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