Related papers: Defect structures in nematic liquid crystals aroun…
Liquid crystals are assemblies of rod-like molecules which self-organize to form mesophases, in-between ordinary liquids and anisotropic crystals. At each point, the molecules collectively orient themselves along a privileged direction,…
Using Ginzburg-Landau theory, we have performed detailed studies of vortices in the presence of artificial defect arrays, for a thin film geometry. We show that when a vortex approaches the vicinity of a defect, an abrupt transition occurs…
We investigate the correlation between the point disclination energies and the surface curvature modulation of nematic liquid crystal membranes with a Gaussian bump geometry. Due to the correlation, disclinations feel an attractive force…
A theoretical analysis is presented of a nematic liquid crystal confined between substrates pat- terned with squares that promote vertical and planar alignment. Two approaches are used to eluci- date the behavior across a wide range of…
Topological defects can appear whenever there is some type of ordering. Its ubiquity in nature has been the subject of several studies, from early Universe to condensed matter. In this work, we investigated the annihilation dynamics of…
In experiments which take a liquid crystal rapidly from the isotropic to the nematic phase, a dense tangle of defects is formed. In nematics, there are in principle both line and point defects (``hedgehogs''), but no point defects are…
We study the equilibrium shapes of vesicles, with an in-plane nematic order, using a Monte-Carlo scheme and show that highly curved shapes, like tubes and discs, with a striking similarity to the structures engendered by certain curvature…
One of the central experimental efforts in nematic colloids research aims to explore how the interplay between the geometry of particles along with the accompanying nematic director deformations and defects around them can provide a means…
We investigate a counterintuitive geometric interaction between defects and curvature in thin layers of superfluids, superconductors and liquid crystals deposited on curved surfaces. Each defect feels a geometric potential whose functional…
We report a detailed theoretical analysis of novel quadrupolar interactions observed between islands, which are disk-like inclusions of extra layers, floating in thin, freely suspended smectic C liquid crystal films. Strong tangential…
We study the homogeneous and the spatially periodic instabilities in a nematic liquid crystal layer subjected to steady plane {\em Couette} or {\em Poiseuille} flow. The initial director orientation is perpendicular to the flow plane. Weak…
The newly-discovered ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal exhibits a variety of unique defect phenomena. The depolarization field in the material favors spontaneous spatial variations in polarization, manifesting in diverse forms such as…
In this work, the morphology of nematic capillary nanobridges in slit pores separated by a vertical distance $D$ will be characterised by Monte Carlo simulations for oblate molecules nematogen modelled by the Gay-Berne potential. Previous…
Stable array of point defects was generated in nematic liquid crystal. Point defects with topological charge of +1 and -1 (hedgehogs) were generated in vertically aligned liquid crystal cell. The hedgehogs were arranged in square or…
From the theory of topological defect formation proposed for the early universe, the so called Kibble mechanism, it follows that the density correlation functions of defects and anti-defects in a given system should be completely determined…
Point defect complexes in crystalline silicon composed of hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms are studied within density-functional theory (DFT). Ab initio Random Structure Searching (AIRSS) is used to find low-energy defect structures. We…
The study of the formation of bands of drops along the direction of the vorticity in a concentrated emulsion is presented. That is, the observed anisotropic structures are characterized by regions of high concentration of drops interspaced…
In this work we consider the Landau-de Gennes model for liquid crystals with an external electromagnetic field to model the occurrence of the saturn ring effect under the assumption of rotational equivariance. After a rescaling of the…
Electronic nematicity has been found in a wide range of strongly correlated electron materials, resulting in the electronic states having a symmetry that is lower than that of the crystal that hosts them. One of the most astonishing…
We examine the ordering properties of rectangular hard rods with length L and diameter D at a single planar wall and between two parallel hard walls using the second-virial density functional theory. The theory is implemented in the…