Chain formation in low density dipolar hard spheres: A Monte Carlo study

Abstract

The phase diagram of dipolar hard spheres has been determined by Monte Carlo simulation for reduced densities ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\rho}}}^{\mathrm{*}}$ ranging from 0.02--0.3 and reduced temperatures ${\mathit{T}}^{\mathrm{*}}$ from 0.08--0.25. For ${\mathit{T}}^{\mathrm{*}}$\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.15 the particles are found to associate to form chains which at the highest density are in a polarized ferroelectric state.