Stochastic Rotation Dynamics for Nematic Liquid Crystals

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel mesoscopic simulation model for nematic liquid crystals that combines stochastic rotation dynamics with a simplified Ericksen-Leslie theory, effectively capturing key physical behaviors.

Contribution

It extends stochastic rotation dynamics to anisotropic fluids, enabling simulation of nematic LCs with thermal fluctuations and complex dynamics.

Findings

Successfully models isotropic-nematic phase transition

Simulates defect dynamics and rheology of sheared LCs

Preserves microscopic thermal fluctuations

Abstract

We introduce a new mesoscopic model for nematic liquid crystals (LCs). We extend the particle-based stochastic rotation dynamics method, which reproduces the Navier-Stokes equation, to anisotropic fluids by including a simplified Ericksen-Leslie formulation of nematodynamics. We verify the applicability of this hybrid model by studying the equilibrium isotropic-nematic phase transition and nonequilibrium problems, such as the dynamics of topological defects, and the rheology of sheared LCs. Our simulation results show that this hybrid model captures many essential aspects of LC physics at the mesoscopic scale, while preserving microscopic thermal fluctuations.