Molecular alignment in a shock wave

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Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations of dense nitrogen show that nonspherical molecules have a weak tendency to align their molecular axis such that it lies parallel to the plane of a shock wave front. As a consequence, there is also an even weaker tendency for the molecular rotation axis to align perpendicular to the shock front. The underlying mechanism is discussed and it is argued that this phenomenon can only be observed for dense fluids and only when considering realistic molecular interactions. A single relevant nondimensional parameter is proposed.

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