Article

Fluctuating Interfaces in Liquid Crystals

  1. Friederike Schmid1,*,
  2. Guido Germano1,2,
  3. Stefan Wolfsheimer3,4,
  4. Tanja Schilling3

Article first published online: 13 JUN 2007

DOI: 10.1002/masy.200750611

Issue

Macromolecular Symposia

Macromolecular Symposia

Special Issue: Statistical Mechanics of Polymers: New Developments

Volume 252, Issue 1, pages 110–118, May 2007

Additional Information

How to Cite

Schmid, F., Germano, G., Wolfsheimer, S. and Schilling, T. (2007), Fluctuating Interfaces in Liquid Crystals. Macromolecular Symposia, 252: 110–118. doi: 10.1002/masy.200750611

Author Information

  1. 1

    Physics Department, University of Bielefeld, Universitätsstrasse 25, D-33615 Bielefeld, Germany

  2. 2

    Department of Chemistry, University of Marburg, D-35032 Marburg, Germany

  3. 3

    Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Staudinger Weg 7, D-55088 Mainz, Germany

  4. 4

    Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

*Physics Department, University of Bielefeld, Universitätsstrasse 25, D-33615 Bielefeld, Germany. Fax: (+49)521 1066455.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 13 JUN 2007
  2. Article first published online: 13 JUN 2007

Funded by

  • the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

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Keywords:

  • capillary waves;
  • interfaces;
  • liquid crystals;
  • simulations

Abstract

Summary: We review and compare recent work on the properties of fluctuating interfaces between isotropic and nematic liquid-crystalline phases. Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations have been carried out for systems of ellipsoids and hard rods with aspect ratio 15:1, and the fluctuation spectrum of interface positions (the capillary wave spectrum) has been analyzed. In addition, the capillary wave spectrum has been calculated analytically within the Landau-de Gennes theory. The theory predicts that the interfacial fluctuations can be described in terms of a wave vector dependent interfacial tension, which is anisotropic at small wavelengths (stiff director regime) and becomes isotropic at large wavelengths (flexible director regime). After determining the elastic constants in the nematic phase, theory and simulation can be compared quantitatively. We obtain good agreement for the stiff director regime. The crossover to the flexible director regime is expected at wavelengths of the order of several thousand particle diameters, which was not accessible to our simulations.

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