Related papers: Dynamics of the Nematic-Isotropic sharp interface …
This paper deals with the evolution equation of a curve obtained as the sharp interface limit of a non-linear system of two reaction-diffusion PDEs. This system was introduced as a phase-field model of (crawling) motion of eukaryotic cells…
We analyze the interplay between wetting and anchoring of nematic liquid crystals on disordering, e.g., rough substrates in the framework of the Landau-de Gennes theory, in situations of competing homeotropic and planar easy axes on the…
Liquid crystal networks combine the orientational order of liquid crystals with the elastic properties of polymer networks, leading to a vast application potential in the field of responsive coatings, e.g., for haptic feedback,…
This mini-review discusses the recent contribution of theoretical and computational physics as well as experimental efforts to the understanding of the behavior of colloidal particles in confined geometries and at liquid crystalline…
This study introduces a modeling approach aimed at elucidating the pivotal role of symmetry in phase transitions, focusing specifically on the isotropic-nematic (I-N) transition characteristic of liquid crystal systems. By leveraging…
The dynamics of a thin layer of liquid, between a flat solid substrate and an infinitely-thick layer of saturated vapor, is examined. The liquid and vapor are two phases of the same fluid, governed by the diffuse-interface model. The…
Liquid crystals are synthetic and biological viscoelastic anisotropic soft matter materials that combine liquid fluidity with crystal anisotropy and find use in optical devices, sensor/actuators, lubrication, super-fibers. Frequently…
Mono-layers of stearic and behenic acids deposited with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, were used as aligning films in nematic liquid crystal cells. During the filling process the liquid crystal adopts a deformed quasi-planar alignment…
Substrates which are chemically or topographically patterned induce a variety of liquid crystal textures. The response of the liquid crystal to competing surface orientations, typical of patterned substrates, is determined by the anisotropy…
Polyhedral nematics are examples of exotic orientational phases that possess a complex internal symmetry, representing highly non-trivial ways of rotational symmetry breaking, and are subject to current experimental pursuits in colloidal…
Despite the fact that quantitative experimental data have been available for more than forty years now, nematoacoustics still poses intriguing theoretical and experimental problems. In this paper, we prove that the main observed features of…
The anchoring of nematic liquid crystals on surfaces with grafted liquid crystalline chain molecules is studied by computer simulations and within a mean field approach. The computer simulations show that a swollen layer of collectively…
Real-life bacteria often swim in complex fluids, but our understanding of the interactions between bacteria and complex surroundings is still evolving. In this work, rod-like \textit{Bacillus subtilis} swims in a quasi-2D environment with…
Experimental and modeling/simulation studies of phase equilibrium and growth morphologies of novel polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) mixtures of PS (polystyrene) and liquid crystals that exhibit a direct isotropic/smectic-A (lamellar)…
A singular potential method in the Q tensor order parameter representation of a nematic liquid crystal is used to study the equilibrium configuration of a disclination dipole. Unlike the well studied isotropic limit (the so called one…
We present a modification of the generalized Flory dimer theory to investigate the nematic (N) to isotropic (I) phase transition in chain fluids. We focus on rigid linear fused hard-sphere (LFHS) chain molecules in this study. A generalized…
We present a derivation of the sharp-interface limit of a generic fluctuating phase-field model for solidification. As a main result, we obtain a sharp-interface projection which presents noise terms in both the diffusion equation and in…
We present accurate and mathematically consistent formulations of a diffuse-interface model for two-phase flow problems involving rapid evaporation. The model addresses challenges including discontinuities in the density field by several…
We consider a sharp interface kinetic model of phase transitions accompanied by elastic strain, together with its phase-field realization. Quantitative results for the steady-state growth of a new phase in a strip geometry are obtained and…
The transition from a nematic to an isotropic state in a self-closing spherical liquid crystal shell with tangential alignment is a stimulating phenomenon to investigate, as the topology dictates that the shell exhibits local isotropic…