Numerical Simulations of Nematic Liquid Crystals

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9528092 Pelcovits This is a renewal proposal of a grant that was originally funded under the program Computational Approaches to Real Materials (CARM). The work involves a study of the equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties of the nematic liquid crystals using large scale computation. Previously developed (under CARM) sequential and parallel molecular dynamics (using Gay-Berne potentials) codes will be run on workstations and massively parallel machines respectively. The specific objectives include the dynamics of nematics after rapid quenches, with special emphasis on the behavior of topological defects and the response of nematics to electric fields. %%% Liquid crystals are used in flat panel displays and electronic and photonic devices. The present grant is to study, using large scale computation, the relationship between the microscopic molecular properties and the material response of the nematic liquid crystals. The work follows the earlier development of the molecular dynamics codes supported by a CARM grant. The present work will help elucidate the relationship between the microscopic properties of nematics and their macroscopic response to rapid cooling and to applied electric fields. ***