Binding of similarly charged plates with counterions only.
Similarly and highly charged plates in the presence of multivalent counterions attract each other and form electrostatically bound states. Using Monte-Carlo simulations, we obtain the interplate pressure in the global parameter space. The equilibrium plate separation, where the pressure changes from attractive to repulsive, exhibits a novel unbinding transition. A systematic and asymptotically exact strong-coupling field theory yields the bound state from a competition between counterion entropy and electrostatic attraction, in agreement with simple scaling arguments and simulations.
Moreira
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Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
Netz
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