DIPOLE DIPOLE INTERACTIONS NEAR INTERFACES

The nature of the pair interaction between dipoles embedded in a liquid in the vicinity of a nonmetallic interface is investigated in the continuum limit. It is shown that the dipole-dipole interaction can be significantly modified in the presence of a boundary in liquids characterized by a nonlocal dielectric function or in liquids whose dielectric properties change due to geometrical restrictions. Different limits are studied and relationships to experimental observables are discussed.