6533b839fe1ef96bd12a5a9d
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Fluctuating Interfaces in Liquid Crystals
Stefan WolfsheimerStefan WolfsheimerGuido GermanoFriederike SchmidTanja Schillingsubject
Condensed Matter - Materials ScienceCapillary wavePolymers and PlasticsCondensed matter physicsChemistryOrganic ChemistryIsotropyMonte Carlo methodMaterials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)FOS: Physical sciencesCondensed Matter - Soft Condensed MatterCondensed Matter Physics01 natural sciencesLandau theory010305 fluids & plasmasCondensed Matter::Soft Condensed MatterWavelengthLiquid crystal0103 physical sciencesMaterials ChemistrySoft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)010306 general physicsAnisotropyFluctuation spectrumdescription
We review and compare recent work on the properties of fluctuating interfaces between nematic and isotropic liquid-crystalline phases. Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations have been carried out for systems of ellipsoids and hard rods with aspect ratio 15:1, and the fluctuation spectrum of interface positions (the capillary wave spectrum) has been analyzed. In addition, the capillary wave spectrum has been calculated analytically within the Landau-de Gennes theory. The theory predicts that the interfacial fluctuations can be described in terms of a wave vector dependent interfacial tension, which is anisotropic at small wavelengths (stiff director regime) and becomes isotropic at large wavelengths (flexible director regime). After determining the elastic constants in the nematic phase, theory and simulation can be compared quantitatively. We obtain good agreement for the stiff director regime. The crossover to the flexible director regime is expected at wavelengths of the order of several thousand particle diameters, which was not accessible to our simulations.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-10-22 | Macromolecular Symposia |