Uploaded February 2015 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
Prior to Physics@FOM 2015, the programme committee organised four masterclasses. These classes offer PhDs and young postdocs a unique opportunity to receive an introduction to their discipline from top researchers.
Soft matter quasicrystals
Quasiperiodic crystals with long range rotational symmetry but no translational repeat unit have been known in metallic alloys since they were first reported in 1984. Yet only in the past ten years have such complex structures been reported in soft materials, comprised of, e.g., polymers, macromolecules, nanoparticles and colloids. In nearly all of these soft matter systems, quasiperiodicity is entropically stabilized, and any interactions are essentially short range. Interestingly, despite the fact that most metallic quasicrystals exhibit icosahedral symmetry, no icosahedral quasicrystals have been reported for soft matter systems. Instead, primarily 12-fold rotational symmetries are found, with recent, occasional reports of 8-fold, 10-fold, 18-fold, and even 24-fold planar quasicrystals. In this talk, we discuss common features and unifying principles for the self-assembly of soft matter quasicrystals, and we present results for the first icosahedral quasicrystal to be thermodynamically self-assembled in a computer simulation. This icosahedral quasicrystal is robust over a range of parameters, and is obtained from a single particle type interacting via a short-ranged, oscillatory pair potential that may be achievable in systems of colloidal spheres. The icosahedral quasicrystal we report is surrounded in parameter space by clathrates, important for deep sea methane storage, and other new crystal structures never before reported in a one-component system.
About the conference:
Physics@FOM Veldhoven is a large congress that provides a topical overview of physics in the Netherlands. It is organised by the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) and takes place each year in January. Traditionally, young researchers are given the chance to present themselves and their work alongside renowned names from the Dutch and international physics community. The programme covers Light and matter, Atomic, molecular and optical physics, Nanoscience and nanotechnology, Statistical physics and Soft condensed matter, Surfaces and interfaces, Physics of fluids, Subatomic physics, Plasma and fusion physics, and Strongly correlated systems.
http://www.fom.nl/veldhoven
Prior to Physics@FOM 2015, the programme committee organised four masterclasses. These classes offer PhDs and young postdocs a unique opportunity to receive an introduction to their discipline from top researchers.
Soft matter quasicrystals
Quasiperiodic crystals with long range rotational symmetry but no translational repeat unit have been known in metallic alloys since they were first reported in 1984. Yet only in the past ten years have such complex structures been reported in soft materials, comprised of, e.g., polymers, macromolecules, nanoparticles and colloids. In nearly all of these soft matter systems, quasiperiodicity is entropically stabilized, and any interactions are essentially short range. Interestingly, despite the fact that most metallic quasicrystals exhibit icosahedral symmetry, no icosahedral quasicrystals have been reported for soft matter systems. Instead, primarily 12-fold rotational symmetries are found, with recent, occasional reports of 8-fold, 10-fold, 18-fold, and even 24-fold planar quasicrystals. In this talk, we discuss common features and unifying principles for the self-assembly of soft matter quasicrystals, and we present results for the first icosahedral quasicrystal to be thermodynamically self-assembled in a computer simulation. This icosahedral quasicrystal is robust over a range of parameters, and is obtained from a single particle type interacting via a short-ranged, oscillatory pair potential that may be achievable in systems of colloidal spheres. The icosahedral quasicrystal we report is surrounded in parameter space by clathrates, important for deep sea methane storage, and other new crystal structures never before reported in a one-component system.
About the conference:
Physics@FOM Veldhoven is a large congress that provides a topical overview of physics in the Netherlands. It is organised by the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) and takes place each year in January. Traditionally, young researchers are given the chance to present themselves and their work alongside renowned names from the Dutch and international physics community. The programme covers Light and matter, Atomic, molecular and optical physics, Nanoscience and nanotechnology, Statistical physics and Soft condensed matter, Surfaces and interfaces, Physics of fluids, Subatomic physics, Plasma and fusion physics, and Strongly correlated systems.
http://www.fom.nl/veldhoven
