Crossover from a Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition to a discontinuous phase transition in two-dimensional liquid crystals.

Liquid crystals in two dimensions do not support long-range nematic order, but a quasinematic phase where the orientational correlations decay algebraically is possible. The transition from the isotropic to the quasinematic phase can be continuous and of the Kosterlitz-Thouless type, or it can be first order. We report here on a liquid-crystal model where the nature of the isotropic to quasinematic transition can be tuned via a single parameter p in the pair potential.

Membrane sorting via the extracellular matrix.

We consider the coupling between a membrane and the extracellular matrix. Computer simulations demonstrate that the latter coupling is able to sort lipids. It is assumed that membranes are elastic manifolds, and that this manifold is disrupted by the extracellular matrix.

Raft formation in lipid bilayers coupled to curvature.

We present computer simulations of a membrane in which the local composition is coupled to the local membrane curvature. At high temperatures (i.e.

A finite-temperature Monte Carlo algorithm for network forming materials.

Computer simulations of structure formation in network forming materials (such as amorphous semiconductors, glasses, or fluids containing hydrogen bonds) are challenging. The problem is that large structural changes in the network topology are rare events, making it very difficult to equilibrate these systems. To overcome this problem, Wooten, Winer, and Weaire [Phys.

Fluids in porous media: the case of neutral walls.

The bulk phase behavior of a fluid is typically altered when the fluid is brought into confinement by the walls of a random porous medium. Inside the porous medium, phase-transition points are shifted, or may disappear altogether. A crucial determinant is how the walls interact with the fluid particles.

Monolayer curvature stabilizes nanoscale raft domains in mixed lipid bilayers.

According to the lipid raft hypothesis, biological lipid membranes are laterally heterogeneous and filled with nanoscale ordered "raft" domains, which are believed to play an important role for the organization of proteins in membranes. However, the mechanisms stabilizing such small rafts are not clear, and even their existence is sometimes questioned. Here, we report the observation of raft-like structures in a coarse-grained molecular model for multicomponent lipid bilayers.

Random pinning limits the size of membrane adhesion domains.

Theoretical models describing specific adhesion of membranes predict (for certain parameters) a macroscopic phase separation of bonds into adhesion domains. We show that this behavior is fundamentally altered if the membrane is pinned randomly due to, e.g.

Membrane lateral structure: the influence of immobilized particles on domain size.

In experiments on model membranes, formation of large domains of different lipid composition is readily observed. However, no such phase separation is observed in the membranes of intact cells. Instead, small transient inhomogeneities called lipid rafts are expected in these systems.

Cross-linked biopolymer bundles: cross-link reversibility leads to cooperative binding/unbinding phenomena.

We consider a biopolymer bundle consisting of filaments that are cross-linked together. The cross-links are reversible: they can dynamically bind and unbind adjacent filament pairs as controlled by a binding enthalpy. The bundle is subjected to a bending deformation and the corresponding distribution of cross-links is measured.

Fluid phase separation inside a static periodic field: an effectively two-dimensional critical phenomenon.

When a fluid with a bulk liquid-vapor critical point is placed inside a static external field with spatial periodic oscillations in one direction, a new phase arises. This new phase-the so-called "zebra" phase-is characterized by an average density roughly between that of the liquid and vapor phases. The presence of the zebra phase gives rise to two new phase transitions: one from the vapor to the zebra phase, and one from the zebra to the liquid phase.

From capillary condensation to interface localization transitions in colloid-polymer mixtures confined in thin-film geometry.

Monte Carlo simulations of the Asakura-Oosawa model for colloid-polymer mixtures confined between two parallel repulsive structureless walls are presented and analyzed in the light of current theories on capillary condensation and interface localization transitions. Choosing a polymer-to-colloid size ratio of q=0.8 and studying ultrathin films in the range of D=3 to D=10 colloid diameters thickness, grand canonical Monte Carlo methods are used; phase transitions are analyzed via finite size scaling, as in previous work on bulk systems and under confinement between identical types of walls.

Description of the fluctuating colloid-polymer interface.

To describe the full spectrum of surface fluctuations of the interface between phase-separated colloid-polymer mixtures from low scattering vector q (classical capillary wave theory) to high q (bulklike fluctuations), one must take account of the interface's bending rigidity. We find that the bending rigidity is negative and that on approach to the critical point it vanishes proportionally to the interfacial tension. Both features are in agreement with Monte Carlo simulations.

Colloid-polymer mixtures in the presence of quenched disorder: a theoretical and computer simulation study.

We use theory and computer simulation to study the structure and phase behavior of colloid-polymer mixtures in the presence of quenched disorder. The Asakura-Oosawa model (AO) (Asakura and Oosawa 1954 J. Chem.