Enhanced cohesion of matter on a cylindrical surface

Abstract

We evaluate the cohesive energies E${}_b$ of four systems in which particles move on a cylindrical surface, at fixed distance R from the axis. We find quite nonuniversal dependences of E${}_b$ on R. For the Coulomb binding problem, E${}_b$ is a monotonically decreasing function of R. For three problems involving Lennard-Jones interactions, the behavior is nonmonotonic; E${}_b$ is larger at R = $\infty$ than at R=0; the maximum binding corresponds to R $\sim 0.7\sigma$ (the hard core parameter). Consequences of the enhanced binding are discussed.

9 pages,5 figures, submitted to PRL