Liquid Crystals and their Computer Simulations

Claudio Zannoni

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781108424059
• eBook ISBN: 9781108337328
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Physics
• Index: Physics

Standing as the first unified textbook on the subject, Liquid Crystals and Their Computer Simulations provides a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of liquid crystals and of their Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics computer simulations. Liquid crystals have a complex physical nature, and, therefore, computer simulations are a key element of research in this field. This modern text develops a uniform formalism for addressing various spectroscopic techniques and other experimental methods for studying phase transitions of liquid crystals, and emphasises the links between their molecular organisation and observable static and dynamic properties. Aided by the inclusion of a set of Appendices containing detailed mathematical background and derivations, this book is accessible to a broad and multidisciplinary audience. Primarily intended for graduate students and academic researchers, it is also an invaluable reference for industrial researchers working on the development of liquid crystal display technology.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Title page
• Copyright information
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• 1 Phases and Mesophases
• 2 Phase Transitions
• 3 Order Parameters
• 4 Distributions
• 5 Particle–Particle Interactions
• 6 Dynamics and Dynamical Properties
• 7 Molecular Theories
• 8 Monte Carlo Methods
• 9 The Molecular Dynamics Method
• 10 Lattice Models
• 11 Molecular Simulations
• 12 Atomistic Simulations
• Appendix A A Modicum of Linear Algebra
• Appendix B Tensors and Rotations
• Appendix C Taylor Series
• Appendix D The Dirac Delta Function
• Appendix E Fourier Series and Transforms
• Appendix F Wigner Rotation Matrices and Angular Momentum
• Appendix G Molecular and Mesophase Symmetry
• Appendix H Quaternions and Rotations
• Appendix I Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
• Appendix J X-ray Diffraction
• Appendix K Stochastic Processes
• Appendix L Simulating Polarized Optical Microscopy Textures
• Appendix M Units and Conversion Factors
• Appendix N Acronyms and Symbols
• References
• Index