Electromagnetic instability of the Thomson Problem

Abstract

The classical Thomson problem of $n$ charged particles confined to the surface of a sphere of radius $a$ is analyzed within the Darwin approximation of electrodynamics. For $n<n_c(a)$ the ground state corresponds to a hexagonal Wigner crystal with a number of topological defects. However, if $n>n_c(a)$ the Wigner lattice is unstable with respect to small perturbations and the ground state becomes spontaneously magnetized for finite $n$.

References in corpus (2)

• Electrostatic correlations: from Plasma to Biology
• Why charges go to the surface: a generalized Thomson problem

Cited by in corpus (8)

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• Ground state energy of unitary fermion gas with the Thomson Problem approach
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• Geometric model of the structure of the neutron
• Two and three electrons on a sphere: A generalized Thomson problem
• Minimal energy configurations for charged particles on a thin conducting disc: the perimeter particles
• Depletion zones and crystallography on pinched spheres