• Gauss law constraints on Debye–Hückel screening

• # Fulltext

https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pram/069/03/0423-0433

• # Keywords

Plasma/colloid; Boltzmann density; Poisson equation; Gauss law.

• # Abstract

We demand that the Gauss law at the edge must be obeyed by the electric potential $\phi(r)$ generated within a neutral plasma/electrolyte of strictly ﬁnite size by the introduction of a test charge $q_{b}$. Our proposal has the nice features that total ionic numbers are conserved, the point-Coulomb behaviour of $\phi(r)$ is guaranteed at short-distance, and accumulation of induced charges near the centre and the surface can be demonstrated rigorously. In contrast, the standard Debye–Hückel potential $\phi_{D}(r)$ applicable to unbounded plasma has the strange features that the Gauss law cannot be obeyed at the plasma's edge, total ionic numbers themselves are altered, the short-distance Coulomb behaviour has to be imposed by hand, and induced charge appearance at the surface cannot be built-in.

• # Author Affiliations

1. Department of Physics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India
2. Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 241 667, India

• # Pramana – Journal of Physics

Volume 94, 2020
All articles
Continuous Article Publishing mode

• # Editorial Note on Continuous Article Publication

Posted on July 25, 2019