Eur. Phys. J. E (2013) 36: 6
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2013-13006-3

Regular Article

Thermodynamic anomalies of a network former in a periodic field

Network former in a periodic field

¹ Centre for Advanced Materials, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata-700032, India
² Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, 21 Brundavan Colony, Narsingi, 500075, Hyderabad, India

^* e-mail: camcm@iacs.res.in
^** e-mail: surajit@tifrh.res.in

Received: 23 January 2013
Accepted: 23 January 2013
Published online: 28 January 2013

Abstract

We study the effect of an external one-dimensional periodic field on thermodynamic anomalies associated with a two-dimensional model liquid with anisotropic interactions. The model system, a 50 : 50 binary mixture of two species of particles interacting with an angle-dependent Lennard-Jones potential, has a rich phase diagram and shows many features of network-forming liquids like water and silica such as a prominent minimum in the pressure-temperature isochore. Confining the system by a commensurate one-dimensional periodic field shifts the temperature of minimum pressure to higher temperatures. A mean-field theory of a lattice-gas in an external field which couples to internal orientational states reproduces these results.