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A density functional theory of nematic liquid crystals with both long-range attractive and short-range repulsive interactions

Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery

In this talk, we report work considering the effects of particle shape on the behavior of soft condensed matter systems [1]. We focus on orientational order, and provide a simple density functional form of the Helmholtz free energy which includes both long-range attractive and short-range repulsive interactions. We provide a detailed example, describing nematic order due to both temperature –dependent attractive (Maier-Saupe) and concentration dependent repulsive (Onsager) interactions. The shape dependence of the attractive interactions originates in the polarizability, while the shape dependence of the repulsive interactions arises through the excluded volume. We discuss the phase behavior as the relative contributions of these two effects are varied. Joint work with M. Y. Pevnyi, E.G. Virga, X. Zheng. [1] P. Palffy-Muhoray, M. Y. Pevnyi, E. G. Virga, X. Zheng. ‘The Effects of Particle Shape in Orientationally Ordered Soft Materials’, IAS/Park City Mathematics Series (to appear)

Mathematics; Partial differential equations; Statistical mechanics, structure of matter

video/mp4

Author affiliation: Kent State University

2017-12-05

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/63818

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/