1,838 research outputs found
Phase diagram of symmetric binary mixtures at equimolar and non-equimolar concentrations: a systematic investigation
We consider symmetric binary mixtures consisting of spherical particles with
equal diameters interacting via a hard-core plus attractive tail potential with
strengths epsilon_{ij}, i,j=1,2, such that epsilon_{11} = epsilon_{22} >
epsilon_{12}. The phase diagram of the system at all densities and
concentrations is investigated as a function of the unlike-to-like interaction
ratio delta = epsilon_{12}/epsilon_{11} by means of the hierarchical reference
theory (HRT). The results are related to those of previous investigations
performed at equimolar concentration, as well as to the topology of the
mean-field critical lines. As delta is increased in the interval 0 < delta < 1,
we find first a regime where the phase diagram at equal species concentration
displays a tricritical point, then one where both a tricritical and a
liquid-vapor critical point are present. We did not find any clear evidence of
the critical endpoint topology predicted by mean-field theory as delta
approaches 1, at least up to delta=0.8, which is the largest value of delta
investigated here. Particular attention was paid to the description of the
critical-plus-tricritical point regime in the whole density-concentration
plane. In this situation, the phase diagram shows, in a certain temperature
interval, a coexistence region that encloses an island of homogeneous,
one-phase fluid.Comment: 27 pages + 20 figure
Phase transitions in simple and not so simple binary fluids
Compared to pure fluids, binary mixtures display a very diverse phase
behavior, which depends sensitively on the parameters of the microscopic
potential. Here we investigate the phase diagrams of simple model mixtures by
use of a microscopic implementation of the renormalization group technique.
First, we consider a symmetric mixture with attractive interactions, possibly
relevant for describing fluids of molecules with internal degrees of freedom.
Despite the simplicity of the model, slightly tuning the strength of the
interactions between unlike species drastically changes the topology of the
phase boundary, forcing or inhibiting demixing, and brings about several
interesting features such as double critical points, tricritical points, and
coexistence domains enclosing `islands' of homogeneous, mixed fluid.
Homogeneous phase separation in mixtures can be driven also by purely repulsive
interactions. As an example, we consider a model of soft particles which has
been adopted to describe binary polymer solutions. This is shown to display
demixing (fluid-fluid) transition at sufficiently high density. The nature and
the physical properties of the corresponding phase transition are investigated.Comment: 6 pages + 3 figures, presented at the 5th EPS Liquid Matter
Conference, Konstanz, 14-18 September 200
Measuring and modelling supercritical adsorption of CO2 and CH4 on montmorillonite source clay
The porosity of clay minerals is dominated by nanoscale pores that provide a large surface area for physical and chemical interactions with the surrounding fluids, including gas adsorption. Measuring gas adsorption at subsurface conditions is difficult, because elevated pressures are required and the interactions between the supercritical gas and the clay are relatively weak. Here, we report on the measurement of adsorption isotherms of CO2 and CH4 on the source clay Na-montmorillonite (SWy-2) at different temperatures (25–115°C) over a wide range of pressures (0.02–25 MPa). The experimental observations are thoroughly analysed by considering both net and excess adsorbed amounts, and by extracting adsorption metrics, such as the Henry's constants and enthalpy of adsorption. The results consistently indicate that SWy-2 favours adsorption of CO2 over CH4 with selectivity, . The experimental data are successfully described using a Lattice Density Functional Theory (LDFT) model. The adsorption energetics estimated by the model compare well with the experimentally obtained enthalpy of adsorption. It is further shown that even at the highest pressure the pore space of the clay is only partially filled and that the degree of saturation increases upon approaching the critical temperature of the gas. The ability of the LDFT model to reveal pore-dependent adsorption behaviours demonstrates its potential against empirical models, such as the Langmuir equation, which fail at capturing the complexities of supercritical gas adsorption at subsurface conditions
Formation of cluster crystals in an ultra-soft potential model on a spherical surface
We investigate the formation of cluster crystals with multiply occupied lattice sites on a spherical surface in systems of ultra-soft particles interacting via repulsive, bounded pair potentials. Not all interactions of this kind lead to clustering: we generalize the criterion devised in C. N. Likos et al., Phys. Rev. E, 2001, 63, 031206 to spherical systems in order to distinguish between cluster-forming systems and fluids which display reentrant melting. We use both DFT and Monte Carlo simulations to characterize the behavior of the system, and obtain semi-quantitative agreement between the two. We find that the number of clusters is determined by the ratio between the size s of the ultra-soft particles and the radius R of the sphere in such a way that each stable configuration spans a certain interval of s/R. Furthermore, we study the effect of topological frustration on the system due to the sphere curvature by comparing the properties of disclinations, i.e., clusters with fewer than six neighbors, and non-defective clusters. Disclinations are shown to be less stable, contain fewer particles, and be closer to their neighbors than other lattice points: these properties are explained on the basis of geometric and energetic considerations
A model colloidal fluid with competing interactions: bulk and interfacial properties
Using a simple mean-field density functional theory theory (DFT), we
investigate the structure and phase behaviour of a model colloidal fluid
composed of particles interacting via a pair potential which has a hard core of
diameter , is attractive Yukawa at intermediate separations and
repulsive Yukawa at large separations. We analyse the form of the asymptotic
decay of the bulk fluid correlation functions, comparing results from our DFT
with those from the self consistent Ornstein-Zernike approximation (SCOZA). In
both theories we find rich crossover behaviour, whereby the ultimate decay of
correlation functions changes from monotonic to long-wavelength damped
oscillatory decay on crossing certain lines in the phase diagram, or sometimes
from oscillatory to oscillatory with a longer wavelength. For some choices of
potential parameters we find, within the DFT, a -line at which the
fluid becomes unstable with respect to periodic density fluctuations. SCOZA
fails to yield solutions for state points near such a -line. The
propensity to clustering of particles, which is reflected by the presence of a
long wavelength , slowly decaying oscillatory pair correlation
function, and a structure factor that exhibits a very sharp maximum at small
but non zero wavenumbers, is enhanced in states near the -line. We
present density profiles for the planar liquid-gas interface and for fluids
adsorbed at a planar hard wall. The presence of a nearby -transition
gives rise to pronounced long-wavelength oscillations in the one-body densities
at both types of interface.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure
Dipolar ground state of planar spins on triangular lattices
An infinite triangular lattice of classical dipolar spins is usually
considered to have a ferromagnetic ground state. We examine the validity of
this statement for finite lattices and in the limit of large lattices. We find
that the ground state of rectangular arrays is strongly dependent on size and
aspect ratio. Three results emerge that are significant for understanding the
ground state properties: i) formation of domain walls is energetically favored
for aspect ratios below a critical valu e; ii) the vortex state is always
energetically favored in the thermodynamic limit of an infinite number of
spins, but nevertheless such a configuration may not be observed even in very
large lattices if the aspect ratio is large; iii) finite range approximations
to actual dipole sums may not provide the correct ground sta te configuration
because the ferromagnetic state is linearly unstable and the domain wall energy
is negative for any finite range cutoff.Comment: Several short parts have been rewritten. Accepted for publication as
a Rapid Communication in Phys. Rev.
Online Motion Planning for Safe Human–Robot Cooperation Using B-Splines and Hidden Markov Models
When humans and robots work together, ensuring safe cooperation must be a priority. This research aims to develop a novel real-time planning algorithm that can handle unpredictable human movements by both slowing down task execution and modifying the robot’s path based on the proximity of the human operator. To achieve this, an efficient method for updating the robot’s motion is developed using a two-fold control approach that combines B-splines and hidden Markov models. This allows the algorithm to adapt to a changing environment and avoid collisions. The proposed framework is thus validated using the Franka Emika Panda robot in a simple start–goal task. Our algorithm successfully avoids collision with the moving hand of an operator monitored by a fixed camera
Recent developments of the Hierarchical Reference Theory of Fluids and its relation to the Renormalization Group
The Hierarchical Reference Theory (HRT) of fluids is a general framework for
the description of phase transitions in microscopic models of classical and
quantum statistical physics. The foundations of HRT are briefly reviewed in a
self-consistent formulation which includes both the original sharp cut-off
procedure and the smooth cut-off implementation, which has been recently
investigated. The critical properties of HRT are summarized, together with the
behavior of the theory at first order phase transitions. However, the emphasis
of this presentation is on the close relationship between HRT and non
perturbative renormalization group methods, as well as on recent
generalizations of HRT to microscopic models of interest in soft matter and
quantum many body physics.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures. Review paper to appear in Molecular Physic
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