Related papers: Nematic fluid at a hard wall in the mean field app…
In this article, we generalize Wenzel law, which assigns an effective contact angle for a droplet on a rough substrate, when the wetting layer has an ordered phase, like a nematic. We estimate the conditions for which the wetting behavior…
he contact angle of a liquid droplet on a surface under partial wetting conditions differs for a nanoscopically rough or periodically corrugated surface from its value for a perfectly flat surface. Wenzel's relation attributes this…
We consider the scaling limit of a generic ferromagnetic system with a continuous phase transition, on the half plane with boundary conditions leading to the equilibrium of two different phases below criticality. We use general properties…
We show by means of continuum theory and simulations that geometric percolation in uniaxial nematics of hard slender particles is fundamentally different from that in isotropic dispersions. In the nematic, percolation depends only very…
The effect of confinement on the orientational structure of a nematic liquid crystal model has been investigated by using a version of density-functional theory (DFT). We have focused on the case of a nematic confined by opposing flat…
A nematic liquid crystal in contact with a grating surface possessing an alternating stripe pattern of locally homeotropic and planar anchoring is studied within the Frank--Oseen model. The combination of both chemical and geometrical…
Liquids in contact with solids are submitted to intermolecular forces making liquids heterogeneous and, in a mechanical model, the stress tensor is not any more spherical as in homogeneous bulks. The aim of this article is to show that a…
We use an infinite-range Maier-Saupe model, with two sets of local quadrupolar variables and restricted orientations, to investigate the global phase diagram of a coupled system of two nematic subsystems. The free energy and the equations…
We derive a mathematical model for the motion of several insulating rigid bodies through an electrically conducting fluid. Starting from a universal model describing this phenomenon in generality, we elaborate (simplifying) physical…
We investigate the value of the correlation function of an inhomogeneous hard-sphere fluid at contact. This quantity plays a critical role in Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (SAFT), which is the basis of a number of recently developed…
Several experiments have reported that ferroelectric nanoparticles have drastic effects on nematic liquid crystals--increasing the isotropic-nematic transition temperature by about 5 K, and greatly increasing the sensitivity to applied…
The mean ($\kappa$) and Gaussian ($\bar{\kappa}$) bending rigidities of liquid-liquid interfaces, of importance for shape fluctuations and topology of interfaces, respectively, are not yet established: even their signs are debated. Using…
In this work we define a mean-field crossover generated by the Maxwell construction as the dividing interface for the vapor-liquid interface area. A highly accurate density-profile equation is thus derived, which is physically favorable and…
We present a generalization of the Maier-Saupe (MS) theory that incorporates the description of the ferroelectric nematic phase (NF) within its scope of application. The extension of the theory is carried out in a natural way, by adding to…
We review and compare recent work on the properties of fluctuating interfaces between nematic and isotropic liquid-crystalline phases. Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations have been carried out for systems of ellipsoids and hard…
Young's law fails on soft solid and liquid substrates where there are substantial deformations near the contact line. On liquid substrates, this is captured by Neumann's classic analysis, which provides a geometrical construction for…
Direct Numerical Simulations of two superposed fluids in a channel with a textured surface on the lower wall have been carried out. A parametric study varying the viscosity ratio between the two fluids has been performed to mimic both {\bf…
We theoretically study the nematic ordering transition of rods that are able to elastically adjust their mutually excluded volumes. The model rods, which consist of a hard core surrounded by a deformable shell, mimic the structure of…
We present a theory of the isotropic-nematic quantum phase transition in the composite Fermi liquid arising in half-filled Landau levels. We show that the quantum phase transition between the isotropic and the nematic phase is triggered by…
A system of hard spheroplatelets near an impenetrable wall is studied in the low-density Onsager approximation. Spheroplatelets have optimal shape between rods and plates, and the direct transition from the isotropic to biaxial nematic…