Crystallization of Molecular Liquids through Shear-Induced Nucleation

We report that a shear-induced transition to an ordered state occurs in simulations of condensed molecular systems and that positional ordering can persist after shearing has stopped. Moreover, we calculate that shear fluctuations sufficient to induce microscopic ordering can occur in equilibrium fluids. We conclude that microscopic ordering induced by shear fluctuations provides a mechanism for homogeneous nucleation of the phase transition from liquid to crystal in real molecular systems and may therefore be used as the basis of a computational technique for investigating the crystallization of molecular liquids.