  We study the statistical mechanics of counterion Wigner crystals associated
with hexagonal bundles of chiral biopolymers. We show that, due to spontaneous
chiral symmetry breaking induced by frustration, these Wigner crystals would be
chiral even if the biopolymers themselves were not chiral. Using a duality
transformation of the model onto a "spin-charge" Hamiltonian, we show that
melting of the Wigner crystal is due to the unbinding of screw dislocations and
that the melting temperature has a singular dependence on the intrinsic
chirality of the biopolymers. Finally, we report that, if electrostatic
interactions are strongly screened, the counterions can condense in the form of
an intermediate achiral Wigner solid phase that melts by the unbinding of
fractional topological charges.
