Criticality of Lamellar Surfaces by Conformational Degrees of freedom

TL;DR

This paper introduces an exactly solvable 2D six vertex model for lamellar surfaces with flexible molecules, revealing a finite order transition influenced by molecular degrees of freedom and their interactions.

Contribution

It presents a novel exactly solvable model for lamellar surfaces incorporating internal molecular flexibility and analyzes the nature of phase transitions based on interaction energy expansions.

Findings

The model exhibits a finite order transition.

The transition's character depends on dominant terms in the N-expansion.

Critical temperatures vary with N, influenced by non-leading terms.

Abstract

A new model for lamellar surfaces formed by anisotropic molecules is proposed. The molecules have internal degrees of freedom, associated with their flexible section of length $N$ at zero temperature. We obtain a 2D non-standard six vertex model, which is exactly soluble and exhibits a finite order transition. The order and the character of the transition are determined by the dominant term in the $1 \over N$-expansion of the interaction energy. The dependence of the critical temperatures on $N$ is, instead, determined by the non-leading terms in the same expansion.