Related papers: Focal Conic Flower Textures at Curved Interfaces
Confined smectic A liquid crystals (SmA LCs) form topological defects called focal conic domains (FCDs) that focus light as gradient-index lenses. Here, we exploit surface curvature to self-assemble FCDs in a single step into a hierarchical…
Smectic liquid crystals vividly illustrate the subtle interplay of broken translational and orientational symmetries, by exhibiting defect structures forming geometrically perfect confocal ellipses and hyperbolas. Here, we develop and…
Blue phase liquid crystal (BPLC) has important applications in adaptive lenses and phase modulators due to its polarization-independent property. During our efforts for development of the new materials, we found a novel phenomenology of…
Focal conic domains, are defects characteristic of layered liquid crystal phases. Their association can built flowers where petals are the ellipses of the Dupin cyclides involved in these defect. We report here the observation of focal…
It is usual to think of Focal Conic Domains (FCD) as perfect geometric constructions in which the layers are folded into Dupin cyclides, about an ellipse and a hyperbola that are conjugate. This ideal picture is often far from reality. We…
We study the elastic properties of thermotropic smectic liquid crystals with focal conic domains (FCDs). After the application of the controlled preshear at different temperatures, we independently measured the shear modulus G' and the FCD…
It is usual to think of Focal Conic Domains (FCD) as perfect geometric constructions in which the layers are folded into Dupin cyclides, about an ellipse and a hyperbola that are conjugate. This ideal picture is often far from reality. We…
Characterizing the anchoring properties of smectic liquid crystals (LCs) in contact with bacterial solutions is crucial for developing biosensing platforms. In this study, we investigate the anchoring properties of a smectic LC when exposed…
Understanding polymorph selection in atomic and molecular systems and its control through thermodynamic conditions and external factors (such as seed characteristics) is fundamental to the design of targeted materials and holds great…
Assembly of colloidal particles on fluid interfaces is a promising technique for synthesizing two-dimensional micro-crystalline materials useful in fields as diverse as biomedicine1, materials science2, mineral flotation3 and food…
A flux liquid can condense into a smectic crystal in a pure layered superconductors with the magnetic field oriented nearly parallel to the layers. If the smectic order is commensurate with the layering, this crystal is {\sl stable} to…
A coupled phase-field and hydrodynamic model is introduced to describe a two-phase, weakly compressible smectic (layered phase) in contact with an isotropic fluid of different density. A non-conserved smectic order parameter is coupled to a…
A promising approach in designing composite materials with unusual physical behavior combines solid nanostructures and orientationally ordered soft matter at the mesoscale. Such composites not only inherit properties of their constituents…
The ordering of nanoparticles into predetermined configurations is of importance to the design of advanced technologies. In this work, we moderate the surface anchoring against the bulk elasticity of liquid crystals to dynamically shape…
Nanoindentation, a common technique for probing the mechanical properties of crystalline materials, exhibits both surface and bulk-dominated responses that are linked to the parent crystal's elasticity and plasticity. For FCC crystals, the…
We study elastic interactions between colloidal particles and deformation landscapes of undulations in a cholesteric liquid crystal under an electric field applied normal to cholesteric layers. The onset of undulation instability is…
The morphologies of two-dimensional (2D) crystals, nucleated, grown, and integrated within 2D elastic fluids, for instance in giant vesicle membranes, are dictated by an interplay of mechanics, permeability, and thermal contraction.…
We examine the behavior of spherical silica particles trapped at an air-nematic liquid crystal interface. When a strong normal anchoring is imposed, the beads spontaneously form various structures depending on their area density and the…
The geometric shape, symmetry, and topology of colloidal particles often allow for controlling colloidal phase behavior and physical properties of these soft matter systems. In liquid crystalline dispersions, colloidal particles with low…
Higher superconducting critical temperature and large-area epsilon-near-zero interfaces are two long-standing goals of Condensed Matter Physics and Optics. Motivated by the recent advancements of experimental interests on metallic…