Finite-size scaling study of dynamic critical phenomena in a vapor-liquid transition

TL;DR

This study combines molecular dynamics simulations and finite-size scaling analysis to investigate the dynamic critical phenomena of vapor-liquid transitions in a Lennard-Jones system, providing insights into transport properties near criticality.

Contribution

It applies finite-size scaling to dynamic properties in a Lennard-Jones fluid, validating theoretical predictions with simulation data.

Findings

Bulk viscosity and thermal conductivity exhibit critical singularities.

Simulation results agree with dynamic renormalization group predictions.

Finite-size effects are effectively characterized using FSS methods.

Abstract

Via a combination of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and finite-size scaling (FSS) analysis, we study dynamic critical phenomena for the vapor-liquid transition in a three dimensional Lennard-Jones system. The phase behavior of the model, including the critical point, have been obtained via the Monte Carlo simulations. The transport properties, viz., the bulk viscosity and the thermal conductivity, are calculated via the Green-Kubo relations, by taking inputs from the MD simulations in the microcanonical ensemble. The critical singularities of these quantities are estimated via the FSS method. The results thus obtained are in nice agreement with the predictions of the dynamic renormalization group and mode-coupling theories.