Influence of image forces on charge–dipole interaction in two-layered systems

Abstract

Interaction between a fixed point electric charge Q and a freely rotating point electric dipole with the magnitude P pinned near a plane interface between two dispersionless insulators with different dielectric permittivities ɛ1 and ɛ2 has been considered. It was shown that, as a result of this interaction and the interaction of the dipole with the polarization charges induced at the interface by the charge Q and the dipole itself, there arise regions where the dipole can possess either one or two equilibrium orientations. The spatial distributions of the electrostatic dipole energy Wtotal under the combined action of the charge Q and the induced interface polarization charges, as well as the equilibrium dipole orientations (orientation maps), the boundaries between the regions with different numbers of dipole orientations, and their evolution with the variation of problem parameters (the charge and dipole magnitudes, the mismatch between ɛ1 and ɛ2, and the charge–interface distance) were calculated. It was shown that there can emerge local minima of Wtotal, which may play the role of traps for dipoles (in particular, excitons in layered structures), and the corresponding requirements for the problem parameters were found. Most results were obtained in analytical form. The model can be applied to various physical systems, for instance, polar molecules, excitons, and trions in layered structures.