Eur. Phys. J. B (2012) 85: 108
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2012-20820-1

Regular Article

A cluster theory for a Janus fluid

National Institute for Theoretical Physics (NITheP) and Institute of Theoretical Physics, Stellenbosch University, 7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa

^a e-mail: rfantoni27@sun.ac.za

Received: 7 October 2011
Received in final form: 18 December 2011
Published online: 28 March 2012

Abstract

Recent Monte Carlo simulations on the Kern and Frenkel model of a Janus fluid have revealed that in the vapour phase there is the formation of preferred clusters made up of a well-defined number of particles: the micelles and the vesicles. A cluster theory is developed to approximate the exact clustering properties stemming from the simulations. It is shown that the theory is able to reproduce the micellisation phenomenon.