Bond-Orientational Order in Condensed Matter Systems

One of the most important aspects of solid materials is the regularity of the arrangement of the constituent molecules, that is, the long-range order. The focus of this book is on the contribution made by the ordering of bond orientations (as distinguished from the orientations of the molecules themselves) on the behavior of condensed systems, particularly their phase transitions. Examples in which bond-orientational effects play an important role are liquid crystals, quasicrystals, and two-dimensional crystals. This book contains contributions by many of the foremost researchers in the field. The chapters are tutorial reviews of the subject, written both for the active researcher looking for a review of a topic and for the graduate student investigating an exciting area of research. The contributions include an overview by J.D. Brock, Cornell; a discussion of computer simulation studies by K.J. Strandburg, Argonne; chapters on phase transition in hexatic liquid crystals by C.C. Huang, Minnesota and C.A. Murray, Texas A&M; and chapters on quasicrystals by S. Sachdev, Yale, M.V. Jaric, A.I. Goldman, Iowa State, and T.-L. Ho, Ohio State.

Contenu
1 Bond-Orientational Order.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 Elementary Ideas.- 1.3 Experimental Results.- 1.4 More Complicated Systems.- 1.5 Extensions to Three Dimensions.- References.- 2 Computer Simulation Studies of Bond-Orientational Order.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Numerical Simulation Techniques.- 2.3 Examples of Computer Simulation Studies of Bond-Orientational Order.- 2.4 Conclusions.- References.- 3 Nature of Phase Transitions Related to Stacked Hexatic Phases in Liquid Crystals.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Fundmental Properties of the Hexatic Phase.- 3.3 Thermal Properties.- 3.4 Criticality of the Smectic-A-Hexatic-B Transition.- 3.5 Conclusions.- References.- 4 Experimental Studies of Melting and Hexatic Order in Two-Dimensional Colloidal Suspensions.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Experimental ResultsMelting of Two-Dimensional Colloidal Systems.- 4.3 Conclusions and Suggestions for Future Work.- References.- 5 Faceting in Bond-Oriented Glasses and Quasicrystals.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Quasicrystal Facets.- 5.3 The Conventional View of Facet Formation.- 5.4 Faceting in Perfect Bond-Oriented Systems.- 5.5 Equilibrium Shapes of Perfect and Random Quasicrystals.- 5.6 Final Remarks.- References.- 6 Icosahedral Ordering in Supercooled Liquids and Metallic Glasses.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 Three-Dimensional Sphere Packings and Frustration.- 6.3 Structure Factor of Monoatomic Supercooled Liquids.- 6.4 Application to Real Metallic Glasses.- 6.5 Conclusions.- References.- 7 Orientational Order and Quasicrystals.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Bond-Orientational Order Parameter.- 7.3 Bond-Orientational Phase Diagram.- 7.4 Icosahedral Quasicrystals.- 7.5 Conclusion.- References.- 8 Icosahedral Glass Models for Quasicrystals.- 8.1 Introduction.- 8.2 Icosahedral Crystals and Quasiperiodicity.-8.3 Survey of Quasicrystalline Models for the Icosahedral Phase.- 8.4 Icosahedral Glass Structures.- 8.5 The Decagonal Glass in Two-Dimensions.- 8.6 The Icosahedral Glass in Three Dimensions.- 8.7 The Success and Failure of the Icosahedral Glass Model: Comparison with Experiments.- 8.8 Concluding Remarks.- References.