Physics – Condensed Matter – Soft Condensed Matter
Scientific paper
1999-11-19
Physics
Condensed Matter
Soft Condensed Matter
6 pages, 1 figure
Scientific paper
10.1209/epl/i2000-00211-3
The elastic interactions between objects embedded in a nematic liquid crystal are usually caused by the average distorsion-rather than by the fluctuations-of the nematic orientational field. We argue that for sufficiently small particles, the nematic-mediated interaction originates purely from the fluctuations of the nematic director. This Casimir interaction decays as d^(-6), d being the distance between the particles, and it dominates van der Waals interactions close to the isotropic-to-nematic transition. Considering the nematic as a polymer solvent, we show that the onset of this Casimir interaction at the isotropic-to-nematic transition can discontinuously induce the collapse of a flexible polymer chain from the swollen state to the globular state, without crossing the Theta-point.
Bartolo Denis
Fournier Jean-Baptiste
Long Darren D.
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