Monte Carlo Study of the Isotropic-Nematic Transition in a Fluid of Thin Hard Disks

The first numerical determination of the thermodynamic isotropic-nematic transition in a simple three-dimensional model fluid, viz. , a system of infinitely thin hard platelets, is reported. Thermodynamic properties were studied with use of the constant-pressure Monte Carlo method; Widom's particle-insertion method was used to measure the chemical potential. The phase diagram is found to differ considerably from predictions of a second-virial ("Onsager") theory. Virial coefficients up to the fifth were computed; b₅ is found to be negative.