A combination of analytical calculations and Monte Carlo simulations is used to find the ground state structures in monodisperse ferrofluid monolayers. Taking into account the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction between all particles in the system we observe different topological structures that are likely to exist at low temperatures. The most energetically favored structures we find are rings, embedded rings, and rings side by side, and we are able to derive analytical expressions for the total energy of these structures. A detailed analysis of embedded rings and rings side by side shows that the interring interactions are negligible. We furthermore find that a single ideal ring is the ground state structure for a ferrofluid monolayer. We compared our theoretical predictions to the results of simulated annealing data and found them to be in excellent agreement.

• Received 21 May 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.80.031404