We study the fluctuation-induced Casimir interactions in colloidal suspensions, especially between colloids immersed in a binary liquid close to its critical demixing point. To simulate these systems, we present a highly efficient cluster Monte Carlo
algorithm based on geometric symmetries of the Hamiltonian. Utilizing the principle of universality, the medium is represented by an Ising system while the colloids are areas of spins with fixed orientation. Our results for the Casimir interaction potential between two particles at the critical point in two dimensions perfectly agree with the exact predictions. However, we find that in finite systems the behavior strongly depends on whether the $Z_{2}$ symmetry of the system is broken by the particles. Eventually we present Monte Carlo results for the three-body Casimir interaction potential and take a close look onto the case of one particle in the vicinity of two adjacent particles, which can be calculated from the two-particle interaction by a conformal mapping. These results emphasize the failure of the common decomposition approach for many-particle critical Casimir interactions.
We present a new Monte Carlo method to calculate Casimir forces acting on objects in a near-critical fluid, considering the two basic cases of a wall and a sphere embedded in a two-dimensional Ising medium. During the simulation, the objects are move
d through the system with appropriate statistical weights, and consequently are attracted or repelled from the system boundaries depending on the boundary conditions. The distribution function of the object position is utilized to obtain the residual free energy, or Casimir potential, of the configuration as well as the corresponding Casimir force. The results are in perfect agreement with known exact results. The method can easily be generalized to more complicated geometries, to higher dimensions, and also to colloidal suspensions with many particles.
The nonequilibrium phase transition in sheared three-dimensional Ising models is investigated using Monte Carlo simulations in two different geometries corresponding to different shear normals. We demonstrate that in the high shear limit both systems
undergo a strongly anisotropic phase transition at exactly known critical temperatures T_c which depend on the direction of the shear normal. Using dimensional analysis, we determine the anisotropy exponent theta=2 as well as the correlation length exponents nu_parallel=1 and nu_perp=1/2. These results are verified by simulations, though considerable corrections to scaling are found. The correlation functions perpendicular to the shear direction can be calculated exactly and show Ornstein-Zernike behavior.
A new contribution to friction is predicted to occur in systems with magnetic correlations: Tangential relative motion of two Ising spin systems pumps energy into the magnetic degrees of freedom. This leads to a friction force proportional to the are
a of contact. The velocity and temperature dependence of this force are investigated. Magnetic friction is strongest near the critical temperature, below which the spin systems order spontaneously. Antiferromagnetic coupling leads to stronger friction than ferromagnetic coupling with the same exchange constant. The basic dissipation mechanism is explained. If the coupling of the spin system to the heat bath is weak, a surprising effect is observed in the ordered phase: The relative motion acts like a heat pump cooling the spins in the vicinity of the friction surface.
