Lattice Boltzmann kinetic scheme for electro-optical and magneto-optical effects in ferronematic liquid crystals

A new lattice Boltzmann (LB) scheme for ferronematic liquid crystals (FNLCs) is presented. Ferronematics are the colloidal suspension of ferromagnetic nanoparticles in nematic liquid crystals, which have interesting potential applications due to their susceptibility to both the electric field and the magnetic one. We extend the LB model for liquid crystals using our kinetic scheme for magnetic fluids. This model makes it possible to study the coupling effects of electric field and magnetic field in the FNLC efficiently. The LB method is suitable for the numerical investigation of complex fluids such as FNLCs because of its simple algorithm based on the microscopic physics.