From Vulcanization to Isotropic and Nematic Rubber Elasticity
Soft Condensed Matter
2007-05-23 v1 Statistical Mechanics
Abstract
A Landau theory is constructed for the vulcanization transition in cross-linked polymer systems with spontaneous nematic ordering. The neo-classical theory of the elasticity of nematic elastomers is derived via the minimization of this Landau free energy; this neo-classical theory contains the classical theory of rubber elasticity as its isotropic limit. Our work not only reveals the statistical-mechanical roots of these elasticity theories, but also demonstrates that they are applicable to a wide class of random solids. It also constitutes a starting-point for the investigation of sample-to-sample fluctuations in various forms of vulcanized matter.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0411660,
title = {From Vulcanization to Isotropic and Nematic Rubber Elasticity},
author = {Xiangjun Xing and Swagatam Mukhopadhyay and Paul M. Goldbart and Annette Zippelius},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0411660},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
7 pages, 1 eps figure, submited to Europhys. Lett