Polarization transitions in one-dimensional arrays of interacting rings

Periodic nanostructures can display the dynamics of arrays of atoms while enabling the tuning of interactions in ways not normally possible in nature. We examine one-dimensional (1D) arrays of a “synthetic atom,” a one-dimensional ring with a nearest-neighbor Coulomb interaction. We consider the classical limit first, finding that arrays of singly charged rings possess antiferroelectric order at low temperatures when the charge is discrete, but that they do not order when the charge is treated as a continuous classical fluid. In the quantum limit Monte Carlo simulation suggests that the system undergoes a quantum phase transition as the interaction strength is increased. This is supported by mapping the system to the 1D transverse field Ising model. Finally, we examine the effect of magnetic fields. We find that a magnetic field can alter the electrostatic phase transition producing a ferroelectric ground state, solely through its effect of shifting the eigenenergies of the quantum problem.