The biaxial nematic phase diagram for the second rank Straley quadrupolar pair potential, as explored until now, implies that a direct transition from a biaxial nematic to an isotropic phase can occur, either at a single Landau point or even, as recently shown using mean field theory, along a line. We show by an extensive Monte Carlo investigation that a different topology can be found in a wide region of parameter space, with the passage from biaxial to isotropic always going through a uniaxial phase. We argue that this may hint in part at the difficulty in realising a biaxial nematic phase.
Does the isotropic–biaxial nematic transition always exist? A new topology for the biaxial nematic phase diagram / G. Sai Preeti; K.P.N. Murthy; V.S.S. Sastry; C. Chiccoli; P. Pasini; R.Berardi; C. Zannoni. - In: SOFT MATTER. - ISSN 1744-683X. - STAMPA. - 7:(2011), pp. 11483-11487. [10.1039/c1sm06214j]
Does the isotropic–biaxial nematic transition always exist? A new topology for the biaxial nematic phase diagram
BERARDI, ROBERTO;ZANNONI, CLAUDIO
2011
Abstract
The biaxial nematic phase diagram for the second rank Straley quadrupolar pair potential, as explored until now, implies that a direct transition from a biaxial nematic to an isotropic phase can occur, either at a single Landau point or even, as recently shown using mean field theory, along a line. We show by an extensive Monte Carlo investigation that a different topology can be found in a wide region of parameter space, with the passage from biaxial to isotropic always going through a uniaxial phase. We argue that this may hint in part at the difficulty in realising a biaxial nematic phase.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.