Columnar aggregation of dipolar chains

Abstract

We investigate the columnar aggregation of dipolar chains theoretically. At very small number of constitutive chains N ≤ 3, ribbons are found to be stable. For a larger number of chains N ≥ 4, chain bundles in zipper configuration with narrow sections emerge. The underlying lattice is always a body-centered tetragonal lattice which corresponds to the bulk ground-state limit. Remarkable low-energy ground states are obtained when the section of the chain bundle corresponds to a square or a rectangle with aspect ratio close to the former (i.e., unity). Our findings should rationalize recent experimental observations of the columnar assembly of dipolar chains.