Simulation studies of fluid critical behaviour

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent simulation methods for studying critical phenomena in fluids, emphasizing finite-size scaling adaptations for asymmetrical phase coexistence and illustrating with Monte Carlo studies of Lennard-Jones and spin fluid models.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized finite-size scaling approach for asymmetric fluid phase coexistence and demonstrates its effectiveness through Monte Carlo simulations.

Findings

Finite-size scaling theory can be extended to asymmetric fluid systems.

Monte Carlo simulations accurately reproduce critical behavior in Lennard-Jones fluids.

The approach is applicable to polymer blends and solutions.

Abstract

We review and discuss recent advances in the simulation of bulk critical phenomena in model fluids. In particular we emphasise the extensions to finite-size scaling theory needed to cope with the lack of symmetry between coexisting fluid phases. The consequences of this asymmetry for simulation measurements of quantities such as the particle density and the heat capacity are pointed out and the relationship to experiment is discussed. A general simulation strategy based on the finite-size scaling theory is described and its utility illustrated via Monte-Carlo studies of the Lennard-Jones fluid and a two-dimensional spin fluid model. Recent applications to critical polymer blends and solutions are also briefly reviewed. Finally we consider the outlook for future simulation work in the field.