Date/Time
Date(s) - 11/05/2022
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Date: May 11, 2022
Location: ABB 102
Time: 2:30 PM

Guest: Dr. An-Chang Shi – McMaster University
Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy
https://physics.mcmaster.ca/component/comprofiler/userprofile/shi.html

Title: The Packing of Soft Spheres

Abstract:
The packing of spheres is an interesting problem in mathematics and physics with a long history dated back to the work of Kepler and Lord Kelvin. In recent years, intricate periodic and aperiodic spherical packing phases have emerged in a host of soft matter systems including supramolecular assemblies, surfactants and block copolymers, underscoring the universality of emergent order in condensed matter. In particular, the rich phase behavior of block copolymers provides an ideal model system to study the emergence, property, and stability of order phases in soft matter. Our recent theoretical study of block copolymer systems revealed that the formation of complex spherical packing phases could be regulated by a number of mechanisms including conformational asymmetry, architecture and variety of the polymeric components. We further showed that the occurrence of complex spherical phases could be described by simple Landau theory, paving the way to understand the universal appearance of these phases. In this talk, I will summarize recent progresses on this fascinating topic and discuss possible future research directions.