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Modeling Liquid Crystals and Analysis of Supercooled Liquid Dynamics in 2D​

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Abstract:
2D and 3D liquid dynamics are intrinsically different; phenomena that are present in 3D systems aren’t necessarily present in 2D. In the case of supercooled liquids, temperature dependence of orientational and translational relaxation time is decoupled in 2D, but not in 3D. Additionally, the Mermin-Wagner theorem states that translational long-range order cannot exist in a 2D systems, though it is observed in 3D. Here, I use molecular dynamics methods to examine the behavior and order of supercooled ellipsoidal molecules in 2D. Molecular dynamics is a method of computer simulation that is rooted in classical mechanics, which involves solving Newton’s equations of motion for a set of particles or molecules. There are many methods of integration used to calculate particle trajectories. The velocity Verlet algorithm is a simple, yet accurate, integration method that directly uses velocities to calculate the particle position at each timestep. The Gay-Berne model is an anisotropic version of the Lennard-Jones potential and is used to calculate interactions between ellipsoidal molecules. This model is often used to represent liquid crystals, a state of matter between an isotropic liquid and a crystalline solid. Like liquids, liquid crystals can still flow but also exhibit an orientational order, which refers to how the particles align along a common axis. The Gay-Berne model accounts for both translational and rotational degrees of freedom, allowing for modeling and analysis of orientational order. ​

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Citation

Gongoleski, Grace, "Modeling Liquid Crystals and Analysis of Supercooled Liquid Dynamics in 2D​" (2025). Summer Research Symposium. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://doi.org/10.26300/78kd-b867

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  • Summer Research Symposium

    Each year, Brown University showcases the research of its undergraduates at the Summer Research Symposium. More than half of the student-researchers are UTRA recipients, while others receive funding from a variety of Brown-administered and national programs and fellowships and go …
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