263 research outputs found
Dynamical density functional theory with hydrodynamic interactions and colloids in unstable traps
A density functional theory for colloidal dynamics is presented which
includes hydrodynamic interactions between the colloidal particles. The theory
is applied to the dynamics of colloidal particles in an optical trap which
switches periodically in time from a stable to unstable confining potential. In
the absence of hydrodynamic interactions, the resulting density breathing mode,
exhibits huge oscillations in the trap center which are almost completely
damped by hydrodynamic interactions. The predicted dynamical density fields are
in good agreement with Brownian dynamics computer simulations
Concentration Dependen Sedimentation of Collidal Rods
In the first part of this paper, an approximate theory is developed for the
leading order concentration dependence of the sedimentation coefficient for
rod-like colloids/polymers/macromolecules. To first order in volume fraction
of rods, the sedimentation coefficient is written as .
For large aspect ratio L/D (L is the rod length, D it's thickness) is
found to very like . This
theoretical prediction is compared to experimental results. In the second part,
experiments on {\it fd}-virus are described, both in the isotropic and nematic
phase. First order in concentration results for this very long and thin
(semi-flexible) rod are in agreement with the above theoretical prediction.
Sedimentation profiles for the nematic phase show two sedimentation fronts.
This result indicates that the nematic phase becomes unstable with the respect
to isotropic phase during sedimentation.Comment: Submitted to J. Chem. Phys. See related webpage
http://www.elsie.brandeis.ed
A Case Study of Sedimentation of Charged Colloids: The Primitive Model and the Effective One-Component Approach
Sedimentation-diffusion equilibrium density profiles of suspensions of
charge-stabilized colloids are calculated theoretically and by Monte Carlo
simulation, both for a one-component model of colloidal particles interacting
through pairwise screened-Coulomb repulsions and for a three-component model of
colloids, cations, and anions with unscreened-Coulomb interactions. We focus on
a state point for which experimental measurements are available [C.P. Royall et
al., J. Phys.: Cond. Matt. {\bf 17}, 2315 (2005)]. Despite the apparently
different picture that emerges from the one- and three-component model
(repelling colloids pushing each other to high altitude in the former, versus a
self-generated electric field that pushes the colloids up in the latter), we
find similar colloidal density profiles for both models from theory as well as
simulation, thereby suggesting that these pictures represent different view
points of the same phenomenon. The sedimentation profiles obtained from an
effective one-component model by MC simulations and theory, together with MC
simulations of the multi-component primitive model are consistent among
themselves, but differ quantitatively from the results of a theoretical
multi-component description at the Poisson-Boltzmann level. We find that for
small and moderate colloid charge the Poisson-Boltzmann theory gives profiles
in excellent agreement with the effective one-component theory if a smaller
effective charge is used. We attribute this discrepancy to the poor treatment
of correlations in the Poisson-Boltzmann theory.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Depletion forces in non-equilibrium
The concept of effective depletion forces between two fixed big colloidal
particles in a bath of small particles is generalized to a non-equilibrium
situation where the bath of small Brownian particles is flowing around the big
particles with a prescribed velocity. In striking contrast to the equilibrium
case, the non-equilibrium forces violate Newton's third law, are
non-conservative and strongly anisotropic, featuring both strong attractive and
repulsive domains.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Depletion-Induced Chiral Chain Formation of Magnetic Spheres
Experimental evidence is presented for the spontaneous formation of chiral configurations in bulk dispersions of magnetized colloids that interact by a combination of anisotropic dipolar interactions and isotropic depletion attractions. The colloids are superparamagnetic silica spheres, magnetized and aligned by a carefully tuned uniform external magnetic field; isotropic attractions are induced by using poly(ethylene oxide) polymers as depleting agents. At specific polymer concentrations, sphere chains wind around each other to form helical structuresâof the type that previously have only been observed in simulations on small sets of unconfined dipolar spheres with additional isotropic interactions
Self-assembly of charged colloidal cubes
In this work, we show how and why the interactions between charged cubic colloids range from radially isotropic to strongly directionally anisotropic, depending on tuneable factors. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we illustrate the effects of typical solvents to complement experimental investigations of cube assembly. We find that in low-salinity water solutions, where cube self-assembly is observed, the colloidal shape anisotropy leads to the strongest attraction along the corner-to-corner line, followed by edge-to-edge, with a face-to-face configuration of the cubes only becoming energetically favorable after the colloids have collapsed into the van der Waals attraction minimum. Analysing the potential of mean force between colloids with varied cubicity, we identify the origin of the asymmetric microstructures seen in experiment. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.Austrian Science Fund, FWF: START-Projekt Y 627-N27Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 19-12-00209We thank Prof. A. Ivanov for helpful discussions. F. D. wants to acknowledge Dr Leon Bremer and Dr Harm Langermans for their help with the LangmuirâBlodgett experiments. This research has been supported by the Russian Science Foundation Grant No. 19-12-00209. The authors acknowledge support from the Austrian Research Fund (FWF), START-Projekt Y 627-N27. Computer simulations were performed using the Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC-3 and VSC-4)
Dynamic density functional study of a driven colloidal particle in polymer solutions
The Dynamic Density Functional (DDF) theory and standard Brownian dynamics
simulations (BDS) are used to study the drifting effects of a colloidal
particle in a polymer solution, both for ideal and interacting polymers. The
structure of the stationary density distributions and the total induced current
are analyzed for different drifting rates. We find good agreement with the BDS,
which gives support to the assumptions of the DDF theory. The qualitative
aspect of the density distribution are discussed and compared to recent results
for driven colloids in one-dimensional channels and to analytical expansions
for the ideal solution limit
Characterization of anisotropic nano-particles by using depolarized dynamic light scattering in the near field
Light scattering techniques are widely used in many fields of condensed and
sof t matter physics. Usually these methods are based on the study of the
scattered light in the far field. Recently, a new family of near field
detection schemes has been developed, mainly for the study of small angle light
scattering. These techniques are based on the detection of the light intensity
near to the sample, where light scattered at different directions overlaps but
can be distinguished by Fourier transform analysis. Here we report for the
first time data obtained with a dynamic near field scattering instrument,
measuring both polarized and depolarized scattered light. Advantages of this
procedure over the traditional far field detection include the immunity to
stray light problems and the possibility to obtain a large number of
statistical samples for many different wave vectors in a single instantaneous
measurement. By using the proposed technique we have measured the translational
and rotational diffusion coefficients of rod-like colloidal particles. The
obtained data are in very good agreement with the data acquired with a
traditional light scattering apparatus.Comment: Published in Optics Express. This version has changes in bibliograph
Geometric origin of mechanical properties of granular materials
Some remarkable generic properties, related to isostaticity and potential
energy minimization, of equilibrium configurations of assemblies of rigid,
frictionless grains are studied. Isostaticity -the uniqueness of the forces,
once the list of contacts is known- is established in a quite general context,
and the important distinction between isostatic problems under given external
loads and isostatic (rigid) structures is presented. Complete rigidity is only
guaranteed, on stability grounds, in the case of spherical cohesionless grains.
Otherwise, the network of contacts might deform elastically in response to load
increments, even though grains are rigid. This sets an uuper bound on the
contact coordination number. The approximation of small displacements (ASD)
allows to draw analogies with other model systems studied in statistical
mechanics, such as minimum paths on a lattice. It also entails the uniqueness
of the equilibrium state (the list of contacts itself is geometrically
determined) for cohesionless grains, and thus the absence of plastic
dissipation. Plasticity and hysteresis are due to the lack of such uniqueness
and may stem, apart from intergranular friction, from small, but finite,
rearrangements, in which the system jumps between two distinct potential energy
minima, or from bounded tensile contact forces. The response to load increments
is discussed. On the basis of past numerical studies, we argue that, if the ASD
is valid, the macroscopic displacement field is the solution to an elliptic
boundary value problem (akin to the Stokes problem).Comment: RevTex, 40 pages, 26 figures. Close to published paper. Misprints and
minor errors correcte
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