Cubatic phase for tetrapods

TL;DR

This paper predicts complex phase behaviors, including cubatic phases, in tetrapods—non-convex particles composed of four connected rods—based on their geometric properties, with potential for experimental validation.

Contribution

It introduces the prediction of a cubatic phase in tetrapods, expanding understanding of phase behavior in non-convex hard particle systems.

Findings

Tetrapods can form uniaxial nematic phases.

Tetrapods can exhibit a cubatic phase under certain conditions.

Predictions are experimentally testable with recent tetrapod realizations.

Abstract

We investigate the phase behavior of tetrapods, hard non-convex bodies formed by 4 rods connected under tetrahedral angles. We predict that, depending on the relative lengths of the rods these particles can form a uniaxial nematic phase, and more surprisingly they can exhibit a cubatic phase, a special case of the biaxial nematic phase. These predictions may be experimentally testable, as experimental realizations of tetrapods have recently become available.