Related papers: Nanoscale Equilibrium Crystal Shapes
In this work, a theoretical study of phase equilibrium in mixtures of a calamitic nematic liquid crystal and hard spherical nanoparticles is presented. A mean-field thermodynamic model is used, where the interactions are considered to be…
We study the free energy landscapes of a pair of submicron spherical particles floating at the surface of a sessile droplet. The particles are subjected to radial external forces resulting in a deformation of the droplet shape relative to…
Effects of scale coupling between mesoscopic slowly-varying envelopes of liquid-solid profile and the underlying microscopic crystalline structure are studied in the phase-field-crystal (PFC) model. Such scale coupling leads to nonadiabatic…
Computing equilibrium shapes of crystals (ESC) is a challenging problem in materials science that involves minimizing an orientation-dependent (i.e., anisotropic) surface energy functional subject to a prescribed mass constraint. The highly…
The curvature effect on the electronic states of a deformed cylindrical conducting surface of variable diameter is theoretically investigated. The quantum confinement of electrons normal to the curved surface results in an effective…
The stability and growth or dissolution of a single surface nanobubble on a chemically patterned surface are studied by Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations of binary mixtures consisting of Lennard-Jones (LJ) particles. Our simulations…
Crystal defect statistics is developed by minimizing the Gibbs free energy of defect formation, which is commonly converted to a crystallite size-independent equation by applying Stirling's approximation. Solutions of this equation forecast…
We use computer simulations to study the phase behaviour for hard, right rhombic prisms as a function of the angle of their rhombic face (the "slant" angle). More specifically, using a combination of event-driven molecular dynamics…
A smooth sphere-to-cube transition is experimentally, computationally and theoretically studied in plasmonic Au nanoparticles, including retardation effects. Localized surface plasmon-polariton resonances were described with precision,…
The bending energy of any freely deformable closed surface is quadratic in its curvature. In the absence of constraints, it will be minimized when the surface adopts the form of a round sphere. If the surface is confined within a…
By combining Monte Carlo simulations and analytical models, we demonstrate and explain how the gas-to-liquid phase transition of colloidal systems confined to a spherical surface depends on the curvature and size of the surface, and on the…
The thermodynamics of strongly anisotropic crystalline surfaces is analogous to that of a binary mixture exhibiting phase separation. On a metastable planar surface, formation of stable orientations requires a nucleation process, in which…
A continuum field theory approach is presented for modeling elastic and plastic deformation, free surfaces and multiple crystal orientations in non-equilibrium processing phenomena. Many basic properties of the model are calculated…
We review theoretical and simulational approaches to the description of equilibrium bulk crystal and interface properties as well as to the nonequilibrium processes of homogeneous and heterogeneous crystal nucleation for the simple model…
The scaling of friction with the contact size $A$ and (in)commensurabilty of nanoscopic and mesoscopic crystals on a regular substrate are investigated analytically for triangular nanocrystals on hexagonal substrates. The crystals are…
Can we change the shape of a domain without altering its sizes? By introducing a size-invariant shape transformation, we propose the existence and explore the consequences of a new type of physical effect appearing at the quantum scales,…
So far the problem of interface behavior upon phase transition has not yet acquired a satisfactory mathematical formulation due to a variety of the physical phenomena involved. Analytical solutions exist only for elementary problems…
We propose a continuum model to describe the molecular alignment in thin nematic shells. By contrast with previous accounts, the two-dimensional free energy, aimed at describing the physics of thin films of nematics deposited on curved…
We study finite size effects in superconducting metallic grains and determine the BCS order parameter and the low energy excitation spectrum in terms of size, and shape of the grain. Our approach combines the BCS self-consistency condition,…
We study the phase behavior of a nematic liquid crystal confined between a flat substrate with strong anchoring and a patterned substrate whose structure and local anchoring strength we vary. By first evaluating an effective surface free…