Hydrodynamic simulations of soft matter systems in external fields

The understanding of soft matter systems under the influence of
external fields is of practical and fundamental importance.
Simulation methods in general, and mesoscopic hydrodynamic methods in
particular, have shown to be powerful tools for the investigation of
soft matter systems since both direct interactions and solvent
mediated interactions (hydrodynamic interactions) are taken into
account. In this talk, I will present results obtained with one of
these novel mesoscopic techniques. The systems under investigation are
hard spherical and rod-like colloidal particles and polymers with
various architectures. Our main interest is to understand the
structural and transport properties induced by external fields such as
temperature gradients, capillary or shear flows.