1996/10/17 by Nigel B. Wilding, N. B. Wilding · 4 citations
Engineering · Materials Science · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Asymmetry #Material Dynamics and Properties #Mathematics #Monte Carlo method #Phase Equilibria and Thermodynamics #Physics #Scaling #Statistical physics #Symmetry (geometry) #Theoretical and Computational Physics #cond-mat.stat-mech
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0953-8984/9/3/002
35 pages Revtex, 11 eps figures. Review article to appear in J. Phys.: Condens. Matter
arxiv created 1996/10/17 · openalex publication_date 1997/01/20 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2021/02/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We review and discuss recent advances in the simulation of bulk critical phenomena in model fluids. In particular we emphasize the extensions to finite-size scaling theory needed to cope with the lack of symmetry between coexisting fluid phases. The consequences of this asymmetry for simulation measurements of quantities such as the particle density and the heat capacity are pointed out and the relationship to experiment is discussed. A general simulation strategy based on the finite-size scaling theory is described and its utility illustrated via Monte Carlo studies of the Lennard-Jones fluid and a two-dimensional spin-fluid model. Recent applications to critical polymer blends and solutions are also briefly reviewed. Finally we consider the outlook for future simulation work in the field.