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Abstract
From a unified point of view, formulae are derived for the electrostatic energy FT of a ferroelectric in which free charges are present and which is in contact with conductors with given potentials. The material can be characterized in two ways, either by a linear relation P(E) with reversible spontaneous polarization, or by the Landau free energy. The roles of the free and bound charges inside the dielectric are clarified. Results can be used to determine stable or metastable domain patterns in a ferroelectric sample in which a quasistatic distribution of free charges has been induced.