ZB 10 - Soft Condensed Matter (R. Holyst)

Fluctuating Euler characteristics, topological disorder line, and passages in the lamellar phase

Author(s): Holyst, R and Gozdz, WT
Title: Fluctuating Euler characteristics, topological disorder line, and passages in the lamellar phase
Abstract: We introduce a concept of topological disorder line for systems with internal surfaces. At one side of the line the ordered structure strong topological fluctuations, accompanied by changes in the characteristics. At the other side topological fluctuations are In a system of oil-water-surfactant, in the lamellar phase, the between two regimes is marked by the appearance-of thin passages and their further proliferation. Close to the phase boundary thin wormhole passages merge to the formation of large channels between lamellas pierced with The lamellar phase with many large 'torus-like'' passages resembles the microemulsion phase. In order to illustrate these we perform Monte Carlo simulations of the one scalar order Landau-Ginzburg model of microemulsions. We show how the Euler can be effectively used in such simulations to identify ordered phases and count the number of wormhole passages. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.
Pages: 4773-4780
Journal: JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
Volume: 106
ID: ISI:A1997WM91000042
Year: 1997