Configurational entropy of Wigner clusters

• Published in: Journal of physics. Condensed matter 2011-02, Vol.23 (7), p.075302-7
• Main Authors: Radzvilavičius, A, Anisimovas, E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clusters; Collective effects; Computer Simulation; Condensed matter; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Coulomb friction; Electron states; Electron states and collective excitations in thin films, multilayers, quantum wells, mesoscopic and nanoscale systems; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Energy Transfer; Entropy; Exact sciences and technology; Models, Chemical; Physics; Simulation; Thermodynamics; Three dimensional; Uncertainty
• ISSN: 0953-8984; 1361-648X
• DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/23/7/075302

We present a theoretical study of classical Wigner clusters in two- and three-dimensional isotropic parabolic traps aiming at understanding and quantifying the configurational uncertainty due to the presence of multiple stable configurations. Strongly interacting systems of classical charged particles confined in traps are known to form regular structures. The number of distinct arrangements grows very rapidly with the number of particles; many of these arrangements have quite low occurrence probabilities and often the lowest-energy structure is not the most probable one. We perform numerical simulations on systems containing up to 100 particles interacting through Coulomb or Yukawa forces, and show that the total number of metastable configurations is not a well-defined and representative quantity. Instead, we propose to rely on the configurational entropy as a robust and objective measure of uncertainty. The configurational entropy can be understood as the logarithm of the effective number of states; it is insensitive to the presence of overlooked low-probability states and can be reliably determined even within the limited time of a simulation or an experiment.