The effect of polydispersity on the ordering transition of adsorbed self-assembled rigid rods

TL;DR

This study uses Monte Carlo simulations to analyze how polydispersity affects the phase transition of adsorbed self-assembled rigid rods on a square lattice, revealing a continuous transition in the 2D Ising class.

Contribution

It demonstrates that polydispersity does not alter the universality class of the ordering transition in these models, contrary to recent claims.

Findings

Polydisperse rods undergo a continuous phase transition.

The transition belongs to the two-dimensional Ising universality class.

Results contrast with previous assertions about the effect of polydispersity.

Abstract

Extensive Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to investigate the nature of the ordering transition of a model of adsorbed self-assembled rigid rods on the bonds of a square lattice [Tavares et. al., Phys. Rev E 79, 021505 (2009)]. The polydisperse rods undergo a continuous ordering transition that is found to be in the two-dimensional Ising universality class, as in models where the rods are monodisperse. This finding is in sharp contrast with the recent claim that equilibrium polydispersity changes the nature of the phase transition in this class of models [L`opez et. al., Phys. Rev E 80, 040105(R)(2009)].