Figure 4.

Evolution of the orientational (nematic) order parameter, q, as a function of the packing density, $\phi$, at different equilibrium bending angles, ${\theta }_0$. The freezing, ${\phi }_{monomers}^F\approx 0.495$, and melting, ${\phi }_{monomers}^M\approx 0.545$, points of monomeric hard spheres are also shown as dashed vertical lines for comparison.