On the orientational ordering of long rods on a lattice

Abstract

We argue that a system of straight rigid rods of length k on square lattice with only hard-core interactions shows two phase transitions as a function of density, rho, for k >= 7. The system undergoes a phase transition from the low-density disordered phase to a nematic phase as rho is increased from 0, at rho = rho_c1, and then again undergoes a reentrant phase transition from the nematic phase to a disordered phase at rho = rho_c2 < 1.