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We calculate for the first time the full phase-diagram of an asymmetric non-additive hard-sphere mixture. The non-additivity strongly affects the crystallization and the fluid-fluid phase-separation. The global topology of the phase-diagram is controlled by an effective size-ratio y_{eff}, while the fluid-solid coexistence scales with the depth of the effective potential well., 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. E

A binary lattice gas model that allows for multiple occupancy of lattice sites, inspired by recent coarse-grained descriptions of solutions of interacting polymers, is investigated by combining the steepest descent approximation with an exploration of the multidimensional energy landscape, and by Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations. The one-component version of the model, involving on site and nearest neighbour interactions, is shown to exhibit microphase separation into two sub-lattices with different mean occupation numbers. The symmetric two-component version of the multiple occupancy lattice gas is shown to exhibit a demixing transition into two phases above a critical mean occupation number., submitted to Journal of Physics A

The deformation of an elastic micro-capsule in an infinite shear flow is studied numerically using a spectral method. The shape of the capsule and the hydrodynamic flow field are expanded into smooth basis functions. Analytic expressions for the derivative of the basis functions permit the evaluation of elastic and hydrodynamic stresses and bending forces at specified grid points in the membrane. Compared to methods employing a triangulation scheme, this method has the advantage that the resulting capsule shapes are automatically smooth, and few modes are needed to describe the deformation accurately. Computations are performed for capsules both with spherical and ellipsoidal unstressed reference shape. Results for small deformations of initially spherical capsules coincide with analytic predictions. For initially ellipsoidal capsules, recent approximative theories predict stable oscillations of the tank-treading inclination angle, and a transition to tumbling at low shear rate. Both phenomena have also been observed experimentally. Using our numerical approach we could reproduce both the oscillations and the transition to tumbling. The full phase diagram for varying shear rate and viscosity ratio is explored. While the numerically obtained phase diagram qualitatively agrees with the theory, intermittent behaviour could not be observed within our simulation time. Our results suggest that initial tumbling motion is only transient in this region of the phase diagram., 20 pages, 7 figures

A two-component system of penetrable particles interacting via a gaussian core potential is considered, which may serve as a crude model for binary polymer solutions. The pair structure and thermodynamic properties are calculated within the random phase approximation (RPA) and the hypernetted chain (HNC) integral equation. The analytical RPA predictions are in semi-quantitative agreement with the numerical solutions of the HNC approximation, which itself is very accurate for gaussian core systems. A fluid-fluid phase separation is predicted to occur for a broad range of potential parameters. The pair structure exhibits a nontrivial clustering behaviour of the minority component. Similiar conclusions hold for the related model of parabolic core mixtures, which is frequently used in dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations.

This paper deals with flow-induced shape transitions of elastic capsules. The state of the art concerning both theory and experiments is briefly reviewed starting with dynamically induced small deformation of initially spherical capsules and the formation of wrinkles on polymerized membranes. Initially non-spherical capsules show tumbling and tank-treading motion in shear flow. Theoretical descriptions of the transition between these two types of motion assuming a fixed shape are at variance with the full capsule dynamics obtained numerically. To resolve the discrepancy, we expand the exact equations of motion for small deformations and find that shape changes play a dominant role. We classify the dynamical phase transitions and obtain numerical and analytical results for the phase boundaries as a function of viscosity contrast, shear and elongational flow rate. We conclude with perspectives on timedependent flow, on shear-induced unbinding from surfaces, on the role of thermal fluctuations, and on applying the concepts of stochastic thermodynamics to these systems., Comment: 34 pages, 15 figures

Elastic capsules can exhibit short wavelength wrinkling in external shear flow. We analyse this instability of the capsule shape and use the length scale separation between the capsule radius and the wrinkling wavelength to derive analytical results both for the threshold value of the shear rate and for the critical wave-length of the wrinkling. These results can be used to deduce elastic parameters from experiments., 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PRL

The adhesion of microcapsules to an attractive contact potential is studied theoretically. The axisymmetric shape equations are solved numerically. Beyond a universal threshold strength of the potential, the contact radius increases like a square root of the strength. Scaling functions for the corresponding amplitudes are derived as a function of the elastic parameters., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

We establish a rigorous time-dependent density functional theory of classical fluids for a wide class of microscopic dynamics. We obtain a stationary action principle for the density. We further introduce an exact practical scheme, to obtain hydrodynamical effects in density evolution, that is analogous to the Kohn-Sham theory of quantum systems. Finally, we show how the current theory recovers existing phenomenological theories in an adiabatic limit.

Using a generalisation of an Onsager type approach, we are able to predict a dielectric permittivity profile of an inhomogeneous dipolar fluid in the presence of a dielectric interface. The reaction and cavity fields are calculated semi-analytically using bispherical coordinates. An asymptotic expression for the local permittivity is derived as a function of distance from the interface., Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Molecular Physics

We investigate the system of D-dimensional hard spheres in D-dimensional space, where D.3. For the fluid phase of these hyperspheres, we generalize scaled-particle theory to arbitrary D and furthermore use the virial expansion and the Percus-Yevick integral equation. For the crystalline phase, we adopt cell theory based on elementary geometrical assumptions about close-packed lattices. Regardless of the approximation applied, and for dimensions as high as D550, we find a first-order freezing transition, which preempts the Kirkwood second-order instability of the fluid. The relative density jump increases with D, and a generalized Lindemann rule of melting holds. We have also used ideas from fundamental-measure theory to obtain a free energy density functional for hard hyperspheres. Finally, we have calculated the surface tension of a hypersphere fluid near a hard smooth ~hyper-!wall within scaled-particle theory.

We investigate the structure of colloid-polymer mixtures by calculating the structure factors for the Asakura-Oosawa model in the PY approximation. We discuss the role of potential range, polymer concentration and polymer-polymer interactions on the colloid-colloid structure. Our results compare reasonably well with the recent experiments of Moussa\"{i}d et. al. for small wavenumber $k$, but we find that the Hansen-Verlet freezing criterion is violated when the liquid phase becomes marginal., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, to appear in EuroPhys. Lett