Related papers: Structural trends in clusters of quadrupolar spher…
We analyze the structure diagram for binary clusters of Lennard-Jones particles by means of a global optimization approach for a large range of cluster sizes, compositions and interaction energies and present a publicly accessible database…
Clusters of spherical particles with isotropic attraction favour compact structures that maximise the number of energetically optimal nearest-neighbour interactions. In contrast, dipolar interactions lead to the formation of chains with a…
We introduce a global optimization approach for binary clusters that for a given cluster size is able to directly search for the structure and composition that has the greatest stability. We apply this approach to binary Lennard-Jones…
We revisit the role of attractions in liquids and apply these concepts to colloidal suspensions. Two means are used to investigate the structure; the pair correlation function and a recently developed topological method. The latter…
At low temperatures, colloidal particles with short-range attractive and long-range repulsive interactions can form various periodic microphases in bulk.In this paper, we investigate the self-assembly behaviour of colloids with competing…
Colloidal particles self assemble into a wide range of structures under external AC electric fields due to induced dipolar interactions [Yethiraj and Van Blaaderen Nature 421 513 (2003)]. As a result of these dipolar interactions, at low…
We examine in detail the causes of the structural transitions that occur for those small Lennard-Jones clusters that have a non-icosahedral global minima. Based on the principles learned from these examples we develop a method to construct…
We propose a method to determine the locally preferred structure of model liquids. This latter is obtained numerically as the global minimum of the effective energy surface of clusters formed by small numbers of particles embedded in a…
Colloids can acquire a dipolar interaction in the presence of an external electric field. At high field strength, the particles form strings in the field direction. However at weaker field strength, competition with isotropic interactions…
Active matter has thrived in recent years, driven both by the insight that it underlies fundamental processes in nature, and by its vast potential for applications. This allows for innovation both inspired by experimental observations, and…
Recently, Locatelli and Schoen proposed a transformation of the potential energy that aids the global optimization of Lennard-Jones clusters with non-icosahedral global minima. These cases are particularly difficult to optimize because the…
Studying physical mechanisms and common geometric principles underlying known spherical packings is crucial for rational design of synthetic nanocontainers. Here we model the growth of small spherical shells containing n<72 identical…
Assembly of spherical colloidal particles into extended structures, including linear strings, in the absence of directional interparticle bonding interactions or external perturbation could facilitate the design of new functional materials.…
We investigate the self-organization of point-particles with short-range interactions modeled via simple 1D and 2D Hubbard-like models. We show how various properties emerge such as, boson-like ordering leading to topological structures in…
The dense packing of interacting particles on spheres has proved to be a useful model for virus capsids and colloidosomes. Indeed, icosahedral symmetry observed in virus capsids corresponds to potential energy minima that occur for magic…
We study metastable clusters in a colloidal system with competing interactions. A short-ranged polymer-induced attraction drives clustering, while a weak, long-ranged electrostatic repulsion prevents extensive aggregation. We compare…
We report our studies of the potential energy surface (PES) of selected binary Lennard-Jones clusters. The effect of adding selected impurity atoms to a homogeneous cluster is explored. Inherent structures and transition states are found by…
We report on self-assemblies formed from spherical patchy particles interacting by a long-range attraction through a patch region in a two-dimensional system. We performed Monte Carlo simulations to find stable structures in a system with…
Mutually repelling particles form spontaneously ordered clusters when forced into confinement. The clusters may adopt similar spatial arrangements even if the underlying particle interactions are contrastingly different. Here we demonstrate…
Colloidal particles, amphiphiles, and functionalized nanoparticles are examples of systems that frequently exhibit short-range attractions coupled with long-range repulsions. In this work, we observe striking differences in the dynamics of…