title: Counterions at charged cylinders: criticality and universality beyond mean-field theory.
abstract: The counterion-condensation transition at charged cylinders is studied using Monte Carlo simulations. Employing logarithmically rescaled radial coordinates, large system sizes are tractable and the critical behavior is determined by a combined finite-size and finite-ion-number analysis. Critical counterion localization exponents are introduced and found to be in accord with mean-field theory both in two (2D) and three (3D) dimensions. In 3D, the heat capacity shows a universal jump at the transition, while in 2D, it consists of discrete peaks where single counterions successively condense.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Technical University of Munich, 85748 Garching, Germany.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Naji
authors.forename: Roland R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Netz