Nonlinear Screening and Effective Interactions in Charged Colloids

Influences of nonlinear screening on effective interactions between spherical macroions in charged colloids are described via response theory. Nonlinear screening, in addition to generating effective many-body interactions, is shown to entail essential corrections to the pair potential and one-body volume energy. Numerical results demonstrate that nonlinear effects can substantially modify effective interactions and thermodynamics of aqueous, low-salt suspensions of highly-charged macroions.