AVVISO DI SEMINARIO Dr. Cristiano De Michele: Soft Mesophases
Ore 14.30 Dr. Cristiano De Michele
Soft Mesophases
Colloidal systems can be challenging to study due to the presence of multi scale effects, extending from tenth of nanometers (solvent) up to sub-micro particle-particle correlations.
Multi-scale approach combining theory and computer simulations provides a suitable framework for modelling these systems.
At the bottom level, atomistic simulations of macromolecules are performed to estimate parameters that serve as inputs for the theory or for coarse-grained models.
After that, affordable computer simulations of minimalist models or the theoretical machinery are put in action to provide quantitative predictions on the system under investigation. In the talk, I will focus on two recent developments:
(i) a theoretical approach for calculating the elastic and thermodynamic properties of liquid crystals and
(ii) a coarse-grained model of epoxy resins which allowed to afford theoretical insight into autocatalytic reactions.
In passing, I will also discuss novel algoithms which I developed for carrying out fast computer simulations. Finally, I will discuss an interesting analogy between Abrikosov vortices and colloidal systems, which makes soft matter physics more ubiquitous than expected.
