STABILITY OF PERIODIC DOMAIN-STRUCTURES IN A 2-DIMENSIONAL DIPOLAR MODEL

We investigate the energetic ground states of a model two-phase system with 1/r(3) dipolar interactions in two dimensions. The model exhibit s spontaneous formation of two kinds of periodic domain structures. A striped domain structure is stable near half-filling, but as the area fraction is changed, a transition to a hexagonal lattice of almost-cir cular droplets occurs. The stability of the equilibrium striped domain structure against distortions of the boundary is demonstrated, and th e importance of hexagonal distortions of the droplets is quantified. T he relevance of the theory for physical surface systems with elastic, electrostatic, or magnetostatic 1/r(3) interactions is discussed.