Statistical correlations in a Coulomb gas with a test charge

Abstract

A recent paper [Jokela et al, arxiv:0806.1491 9 June 2008] contains a surmise about an expectation value in a Coulomb gas which interacts with an additional charge xi that sits at a fixed position. Here I demonstrate the validity of the surmised expression and extend it to a certain class of higher cumulants. The calculation is based on the analogy to statistical averages in the circular unitary ensemble of random-matrix theory and exploits properties of orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle.