Single-file water as a one-dimensional Ising model.

We show that single-file water in nanopores can be viewed as a one-dimensional Ising model and investigate, on this basis, the static dielectric response of a chain of hydrogen-bonded water molecules to an external field. To this end, we use a recently developed dipole lattice model which accurately captures the free energetics of nanopore water. In this model, the total energy of the system can be expressed as a sum of effective interactions of chain ends and orientational defects. Neglecting these interactions, we essentially obtain the one-dimensional Ising model which allows us to derive analytical expressions for the free energy as a function of the total dipole moment and for the dielectric susceptibility. Our expressions, which agree very well with simulation results, provide the basis for the interpretation of future dielectric spectroscopy experiments on water-filled nanopore membranes.