Exact calculations of the paranematic interaction energy for colloidal dispersions in the isotropic phase of a nematogenic material

Abstract

In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. E 61, 2831 (2000)], Borstnik, Stark and Zumer have studied the stability of a colloidal dispersion of micron-sized spherical particles in the isotropic phase of a nematogenic material. Close to the nematic transition, the attraction due to a surface-induced paranematic order can yield flocculation. Their calculation of the nematic-mediated interaction was based on an ansatz for the order-parameter profile. We compare it with an exact numerical calculation, showing that their results are qualitatively correct. Besides, we point out that in the considered regime, the exact interaction is extremely well approximated by a simple analytical formula which is asymptotically exact.