Structure formation in dipolar fluids driven by rotating fields

The influence of rotating fields on strongly interacting dipolar fluids is investigated using molecular dynamics and Brownian dynamics simulations. Both one-component and two-component systems are considered. It is shown that under certain conditions rotating fields can induce spatial layering in these systems. This behavior is similar to that recently observed in experimental studies of electrorheological and magnetorheological fluids. The binary mixture results are particularly interesting. It is shown that components that differ only in their moments of inertia can be separated by adjusting the frequency of the applied field. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)50822-8].