Static interaction between electrically polarisable particles in vacuo

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the static electrostatic interactions between charges and polarizable particles in vacuum, revealing critical distances where forces balance or polarizations become unstable, with implications for understanding particle interactions.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of a critical distance for self-sustained polarization and explores force balance in charge-polarizable particle interactions in vacuum.

Findings

Identification of a critical distance for self-sustained polarization

Balance point between attraction and repulsion in charge-polarizable particle interactions

Potential instability (explosion) of polarization at short distances

Abstract

The static interaction of a point charge and a polarisable particle and between two polarisable particles is discussed in vacuo, and force and energy considerations are made. In particular a critical distance is shown (in principle) to appear in the two-dipole case, where the polarisation is self- sustained, and above which it disappears and below which it tends to explode. In the case of a polarisable particle with a nonzero charge interacting with a charge (of the same sign) there is a distance where repulsion and attraction are balanced.