We study the Brownian motion (BM) of optically trapped graphene flakes. These orient orthogonal to the light polarization, due to the optical constants anisotropy. We explain the flake dynamics, measure force and torque constants and derive a full electromagnetic theory of optical trapping. The understanding of two dimensional BM paves the way to light-controlled manipulation and all-optical sorting of biological membranes and anisotropic macromolecules.

O. M. Marago F. Bonaccorso R. Saija G. Privitera P. G. Gucciardi M. A. Iati G. Calogero P. H. Jones F. Borghese P. Denti V. Nicolosi A. C. Ferrari

We study the thermodynamic stability of fluid-fluid phase separation in binary nonadditive mixtures of hard-spheres for moderate size ratios. We are interested in elucidating the role played by small amounts of nonadditivity in determining the stability of fluid-fluid phase separation with respect to the fluid-solid phase transition. The demixing curves are built in the framework of the modified-hypernetted chain and of the Rogers-Young integral equation theories through the calculation of the Gibbs free energy. We also evaluate fluid-fluid phase equilibria within a first-order thermodynamic perturbation theory applied to an effective one-component potential obtained by integrating out the degrees of freedom of the small spheres. A qualitative agreement emerges between the two different approaches. We also address the determination of the freezing line by applying the first-order thermodynamic perturbation theory to the effective interaction between large spheres. Our results suggest that for intermediate size ratios a modest amount of nonadditivity, smaller than earlier thought, can be sufficient to drive the fluid-fluid critical point into the thermodinamically stable region of the phase diagram. These findings could be significant for rare-gas mixtures in extreme pressure and temperature conditions, where nonadditivity is expected to be rather small.

G. Pellicane F. Saija C. Caccamo P. V. Giaquinta

We look for signals of criticality in multifragment production in heavy-ion collisions using model-independent universal fluctuations theory. The phenomenon is studied as a function of system size, bombarding energy, and impact parameter in a wide range of INDRA data. For very central collisions (b/b_max

J. D. Frankland A. Chbihi A. Mignon M. L. Begemann-Blaich R. Bittiger B. Borderie R. Bougault J. -L. Charvet D. Cussol R. Dayras D. Durand C. Escano-Rodriguez E. Galichet D. Guinet P. Lautesse A. Le Fevre R. Legrain N. Le Neindre O. Lopez J. Lukasik U. Lynen L. Manduci J. Marie W. F. J. Muller H. Orth M. Parlog M. Pichon M. F. Rivet E. Rosato R. Roy A. Saija C. Schwarz C. Sfienti B. Tamain W. Trautmann A. Trzcinski K. Turzo A. Van Lauwe M. Vigilante C. Volant J. P. Wieleczko B. Zwieglinski E. Vient L. Nalpas

We study a two-dimensional fluid of particles interacting through a spherically-symmetric and marginally soft two-body repulsion. This model can exist in three different crystal phases, one of them with square symmetry and the other two triangular. We show that, while the triangular solids first melt into a hexatic fluid, the square solid is directly transformed on heating into an isotropic fluid through a first-order transition, with no intermediate tetratic phase. In the low-pressure triangular and square crystals melting is reentrant provided the temperature is not too low, but without the necessity of two competing nearest-neighbor distances over a range of pressures. A whole spectrum of water-like fluid anomalies completes the picture for this model potential.

Santi Prestipino Franz Saija Paolo V. Giaquinta

The behavior of liquid water under an electric field is a crucial phenomenon in science and engineering. However, its detailed description at a microscopic level is difficult to achieve experimentally. Here we report on the first ab initio molecular-dynamics study on water under an electric field. We observe that the hydrogen-bond length and the molecular orientation are significantly modified at low-to-moderate field intensities. Fields beyond a threshold of about 0.35 V/\AA are able to dissociate molecules and sustain an ionic current via a series of correlated proton jumps. Upon applying even more intense fields (1.0 V/\AA), a 15-20% fraction of molecules are instantaneously dissociated and the resulting ionic flow yields a conductance of about 7.8 $\Omega^{-1}cm^{-1}$, in good agreement with experimental values. This result paves the way to quantum-accurate microscopic studies of the effect of electric fields on aqueous solutions and, thus, to massive applications of ab initio molecular dynamics in neurobiology, electrochemistry and hydrogen economy.

A. Marco Saitta Franz Saija Paolo V. Giaquinta

We trace with unprecedented numerical accuracy the phase diagram of the Gaussian-core model, a classical system of point particles interacting via a Gaussian-shaped, purely repulsive potential. This model, which provides a reliable qualitative description of the thermal behavior of interpenetrable globular polymers, is known to exhibit a polymorphic FCC-BCC transition at low densities and reentrant melting at high densities. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations, carried out in conjunction with accurate calculations of the solid free energies, lead to a thermodynamic scenario that is partially modified with respect to previous knowledge. In particular, we find that: i) the fluid-BCC-FCC triple-point temperature is about one third of the maximum freezing temperature; ii) upon isothermal compression, the model exhibits a fluid-BCC-FCC-BCC-fluid sequence of phases in a narrow range of temperatures just above the triple point. We discuss these results in relation to the behavior of star-polymer solutions and of other softly repulsive systems.

S. Prestipino F. Saija P. V. Giaquinta

Effective pair interactions with a soft-repulsive component are a well-known feature of polymer solutions and colloidal suspensions, but they also provide a key to interpret the high-pressure behaviour of simple elements. We have computed the zero-temperature phase diagram of four different model potentials with various degrees of core softness. Among the reviewed crystal structures, there are also a number of non-Bravais lattices, chosen among those observed in real systems. Some of these crystals are indeed found to be stable for the selected potentials. We recognize an apparently universal trend for unbounded potentials, going from high- to low-coordinated crystal phases and back upon increasing the pressure. Conversely, a bounded repulsion may lead to intermittent appearance of compact structures with compression and no eventual settling down in a specific phase. In both cases, the fluid phase repeatedly reenters at intermediate pressures, as suggested by a cell-theory treatment of the solids. These findings are of relevance for soft matter in general, but they also offer fresh insight into the mechanisms subtended to solid polymorphism in elemental substances.

Santi Prestipino Franz Saija Gianpietro Malescio

The optical trapping of polymeric nanofibers and the characterization of the rotational dynamics are reported. A strategy to apply a torque to a polymer nanofiber, by tilting the trapped fibers using a symmetrical linear polarized Gaussian beam is demonstrated. Rotation frequencies up to 10 Hz are measured, depending on the trapping power, the fiber length and the tilt angle. A comparison of the experimental rotation frequencies in the different trapping configurations with calculations based on optical trapping and rotation of linear nanostructures through a T-Matrix formalism, accurately reproduce the measured data, providing a comprehensive description of the trapping and rotation dynamics.

Antonio Alvaro Ranha Neves Andrea Camposeo Stefano Pagliara Rosalba Saija Ferdinando Borghese Paolo Denti Maria Antonia Iati Roberto Cingolani Onofrio M. Marago Dario Pisignano

We report Monte Carlo results for the fluid structure of a system of dimeric particles interacting via a core-softened potential. More specifically, dimers interact through a repulsive pair potential of inverse-power form, modified in such a way that the repulsion strength is softened in a given range of distances. The aim of such a study is to investigate how both the elongation of the dimers and the softness of the potential affect some features of the model. Our results show that the dimeric fluid exhibits both density and structural anomalies even if the interaction is not characterized by two length scales. Upon increasing the aspect ratio of the dimers, such anomalies are progressively hindered, with the structural anomaly surviving even after the disappearance of the density anomaly. These results shed light on the peculiar behaviour of molecular systems of non-spherical shape, showing how geometrical and interaction parameters play a fundamental role for the presence of anomalies.

Gianmarco Munaò Franz Saija

We present scanning near-field images of surface plasmon modes around a single elliptical nanohole in 88 nm thick Au film. We find that rotating surface plasmon vortex modes carrying extrinsic orbital angular momentum can be induced under linearly polarized illumination. The vortex modes are obtained only when the incident polarization direction differs from one of the ellipse axes. Such a direct observation of the vortex modes is possible thanks to the ability of the SNOM technique to obtain information on both the amplitude and the phase of the near field. The presence of the vortex mode is determined by the rotational symmetry breaking of the system and it can be considered the counterpart of the photonic spin Hall effect. Finite element method calculations show that such a vorticity originates from the presence of nodal points where the phase of the field is undefined, leading to a circulation of the energy flow. The configuration producing vortex modes corresponds to a nonzero total topological charge (+1).

Claudia Triolo Salvatore Savasta Alessio Settineri Sebastiano Trusso Rosalba Saija Nisha Rani Agarwal Salvatore Patanè