  Electrostatic correlations play a fundamental role in aqueous solutions. In
this letter, we identify transverse and lateral correlations as two mutually
exclusive regimes. We show that the transverse regime leads to binding by
generalization of Bjerrum pair formation theory, yielding binding constants
from first-principle statistical-mechanical calculations. We compare our
theoretical predictions with experiments on charged membranes and Langmuir
monolayers and find good agreement. We contrast our approach with existing
theories in the strong-coupling limit and on charged modulated interfaces, and
discuss different scenarios that lead to charge reversal and equal-sign
attraction by macro-ions.
