Hessian matrix of potential energy in electrostatic system

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the Hessian matrix of potential energy (H(N)) in an electrostatic system with positive and negative charges on a 2D plane. The user describes using the Poisson equation to determine charge density and potential distribution, leading to the formulation of H(N) through second-order partial differentiation. The diagonal elements of H(N) are derived as ∂²N/∂x(c)² = -q(c)D(c), while off-diagonal elements are calculated using Coulomb's law. The user seeks confirmation of their calculations and inquiries about the properties of H(N), specifically its symmetry and positive definiteness, as well as methods for approximating H(N) in larger systems.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of classical electrostatics and charge distributions
  • Familiarity with the Poisson equation in physics
  • Knowledge of Hessian matrices and second-order partial derivatives
  • Basic principles of Coulomb's law and its application in electrostatics
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the properties of Hessian matrices, focusing on symmetry and positive definiteness
  • Explore numerical methods for approximating Hessian matrices in large electrostatic systems
  • Study advanced applications of the Poisson equation in multi-charge systems
  • Investigate computational tools for simulating electrostatic interactions, such as finite element analysis software
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for physics students, researchers in classical mechanics, and computational physicists working on electrostatic systems and potential energy calculations.

francesco_ljw
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Hi everyone:

I am rookie in classical physics and first-time PF user so please forgive me if I am making mistakes here. My current project needs some guidance from physics and I am describing the problem, my understanding and question as below.

I have an independent electrostatic system with positive and negative charges distributed on a 2D plane. The plane is discretized into small sub-rectangles to calculate the charge density and get the field and potential distribution using Poisson equation, so is the total potential energy N. Location of each charge c (suppose to be x(c)) determines N. Now I need to calculate the Hessian matrix (2nd-order partial differentiation) of N, H(N), with respect to each x(c). To me, as ∂^2 N /∂ x(c)^2 = -q(c)D(c), we get the diagonal elements of H(N), where q(c) is the quantity of charge and D(c) is the local density; the off-diagonal elements need to be calculated using Coulomb's law.

Please correct me if there is any mistake in the above, e.g., miscalculation of H(N), as well as others. If all is correct, my question is (1) what kind of properties would H(N) have (I assume it would be symmetric, but would it be positive definite also)? (2) if we scale up the system with more charges, is there a fast way to approximate H(N)?

Thanks a lot in advance.
 
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