No Arabic abstract
We argue that a system of straight rigid rods of length k on square lattice with only hard-core interactions shows two phase transitions as a function of density, rho, for k >= 7. The system undergoes a phase transition from the low-density disordered phase to a nematic phase as rho is increased from 0, at rho = rho_c1, and then again undergoes a reentrant phase transition from the nematic phase to a disordered phase at rho = rho_c2 < 1.
The critical behavior of self-assembled rigid rods on a square lattice was recently reinvestigated by Almarza et al. [Phys. Rev. E 82, 061117 (2010)]. Based on the Binder cumulants and the value of the critical exponent of the correlation length, the authors found that the isotropic-nematic phase transition occurring in the system is in the two-dimensional Ising universality class. This conclusion contrasts with that of a previous study [Lopez et al., Phys. Rev. E 80, 040105 (R) (2009)] which indicates that the transition at intermediate density belongs to the q = 1 Potts universality class. Almarza et al. attributed the discrepancy to the use of the density as the control parameter by Lopez et al. The present work shows that this suggestion is not sufficient, and that the discrepancy arises solely from the use of different statistical ensembles. Finally, the necessity of making corrections to the scaling functions in the canonical ensemble is discussed.
A novel model, devised to describe spontaneous chirality synchronization in complex liquids and liquid crystals, is proposed and studied. Segments of ribbon-like molecular columns with left- or right-handed 180degree twist lie on the bonds of a honeycomb lattice so that three ribbons meet in a vertex of the hexagonal honeycomb. The energy of each vertex is a minimum if the three ribbons have the same chirality, -E, and is +E otherwise, and the ground state is homochiral, i.e. all ribbons have the same hand. The energy levels for two vertices linked by a single ribbon are either -2E, 0 and +2 E in this vertex model. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that this model is identical to an Ising spin model on a Kagome lattice, for which the site energy structure is quite different. The equivalence of the ordering of the vertex and Ising spin models is also shown analytically. The energy difference between the disordered and ground states, 4J in the spin model, is related to the transition temperature for the Kagome lattice using the exact result, Tc=2.14J. The ordering energy difference for a single site is 50% higher for the vertex model. The thermodynamic energy for the vertex model is corrected by a factor of 1/3 due to double counting and this makes the specific heat of the vertex model also equal to that of the spin model as expected. Other similar models where there is an unusual relation between the site and thermodynamic energies are discussed briefly.
Antiferromagnetically coupled Ising s =3 spins on a triangular lattice are very close to ordering at zero temperature. The low temperature behaviour of a triangular lattice with Ising spins s =3 has been simulated by using both Glauber and Kawasaki dynamics. The formation of misfit clusters, which are essential for destabilizing the ordered state, are inhibited by the use of Kawasaki dynamics. The sublattice susceptibilities and the sublattice order parameter are found to depend qualitatively on the dynamics used so that robust ordering occurs when Kawasaki dynamics are employed. The thermal behaviour that is found for the spin model with Kawasaki dynamics gives insight into the observed ordering of side chains seen in a tetraphilic liquid crystal.
A system of hard rigid rods of length $k$ on hypercubic lattices is known to undergo two phases transitions when chemical potential is increased: from a low density isotropic phase to an intermediate density nematic phase, and on further increase to a high-density phase with no orientational order. In this paper, we argue that, for large $k$, the second phase transition is a first order transition with a discontinuity in density in all dimensions greater than $1$. We show the chemical potential at the transition is $approx k ln [k /ln k]$ for large $k$, and that the density of uncovered sites drops from a value $ approx (ln k)/k^2$ to a value of order $exp(-ak)$, where $a$ is some constant, across the transition. We conjecture that these results are asymptotically exact, in all dimensions $dgeq 2$. We also present evidence of coexistence of nematic and disordered phases from Monte Carlo simulations for rods of length $9$ on the square lattice.
The statistical thermodynamics of straight rigid rods of length $k$ on triangular lattices was developed on a generalization in the spirit of the lattice-gas model and the classical Guggenheim-DiMarzio approximation. In this scheme, the Helmholtz free energy and its derivatives were written in terms of the order parameter $delta$, which characterizes the nematic phase occurring in the system at intermediate densities. Then, using the principle of minimum free energy with $delta$ as a parameter, the main adsorption properties were calculated. Comparisons with Monte Carlo simulations and experimental data were performed in order to evaluate the reaches and limitations of the theoretical model.