Bétermin's conjecture on minimizers of the Lennard-Jones lattice energy

Let AA denote the lattice-area parameter in the Lennard-Jones minimization problem

minzH(ζ(6,z)bζ(3,z)),bR.\min_{z\in\mathbb{H}}\bigl(\zeta(6,z)-b\zeta(3,z)\bigr),\qquad b\in\mathbb{R}.

The triangular lattice, rhombic lattices, a unique minimizer, and rectangular lattices are the candidate optimal shapes in the successive parameter regimes. Bétermin's conjecture. The solutions to the Lennard-Jones model are as follows: for π(120)1/3<A<ABZ1.138\frac{\pi}{(120)^{1/3}}<A<A_{BZ}\approx1.138, the minimizer is triangular; for ABZ<A<A11.143A_{BZ}<A<A_1\approx1.143, the minimizer is a rhombic lattice, continuously and monotonically covering the interval of angles [76.43,90)[76.43,90); for A1<A<A21.268A_1<A<A_2\approx1.268, the minimizer is unique; and for A>A2A>A_2, the minimizer is a rectangular lattice. This conjecture gives the predicted phase diagram for optimal two-dimensional lattice shapes under the Lennard-Jones potential; the supplied text does not establish its resolution.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Senping Luo and Juncheng Wei, “On Minima of Difference of Epstein Zeta Functions and Exact Solutions to Lennard-Jones Lattice Energy”, arXiv:2212.10727 (2022).

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