title: Anomalous Fluctuations of Nematic Order in Solutions of Semiflexible Polymers.
abstract: The nematic ordering in semiflexible polymers with contour length L exceeding their persistence length ℓ_{p} is described by a confinement of the polymers in a cylinder of radius r_{eff} much larger than the radius r_{ρ} expected from the respective concentration of the solution. Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations combined with density functional theory are used to locate the isotropic-nematic (I-N) transition and to validate this cylindrical confinement. Anomalous fluctuations due to chain deflections from neighboring chains in the nematic phase are proposed. Considering deflections as collective excitations in the nematically ordered phase of semiflexible polymers elucidates the origins of shortcomings in the description of the I-N transition by existing theories.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901, USA.|Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Sergei A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Egorov
authors.affiliation: Institute for Physical Chemistry, Bulgarian Academia of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Andrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Milchev
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Binder