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Density functional theory for liquid crystals

By: Rene Wittmann
From: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
At: Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar, Anfiteatro
[2011-11-29] 11:30

The density functional of the successful Fundamental Measure Theory (FMT) for hard sphere mixtures has recently been generalized to describe anisotropic, hard bodies which can be used as a model system for liquid crystals. Introducing an additional term this edFMT provides the first density functional of this kind which is able to describe nematic order. Now the functional, which also contains a parameter, needs to be tested in all kinds of calculations. In this talk I will present some edFMT results for hard spherocylinders and give some insights into the structure of the functional: In the first part I will give an overview of the results obtained for homogeneous phases with a focus on the isotropic-nematic interface and the Frank elastic coefficients of the nematic phase. The second part will concentrate on the description of inhomogeneous phases, in particular smectics. Some ideas to improve the form of the functional will be given.