Related papers: Bi-layer-dimerized chiral liquid crystals
Monte Carlo simulation performed on a lattice system of biaxial molecules possessing $D_{2h}$ symmetry and interacting with a second rank anisotropic dispersion potential yields three distinct macroscopic phases depending on the biaxiality…
The unrelated discoveries of quasicrystals and topological insulators have in turn challenged prevailing paradigms in condensed-matter physics. We find a surprising connection between quasicrystals and topological phases of matter: (i)…
We discuss striped phases as a state of matter intermediate between two extreme states: a crystalline state and a segregated state. We argue that this state is very sensitive to weak interactions, compared to those stabilizing a crystalline…
Using a generalized Landau theory involving orientational, layering, tilt, and biaxial order parameters we analyze the smectic-A* and smectic-C* (Sm-A* -- Sm-C*) transition, showing that a combination of small orientational order and large…
Simulations show that when a phase-separated binary AB fluid is driven to flow past chemically patterned substrates in a microchannel, the fluid exhibits unique morphological instabilities. For the pattern studied, these instabilities give…
All the geometric phases are shown to be topologically trivial by using the second quantized formulation. The exact hidden local symmetry in the Schr\"{o}dinger equation, which was hitherto unrecognized, controls the holonomy associated…
This review introduces the elasticity theory of two-dimensional crystals and nematic liquid crystals on curved surfaces, the energetics of topological defects (disclinations, dislocations and pleats) in these ordered phases, and the…
We identify problems with the standard complex order parameter formalism for smectic-A (SmA) liquid crystals, and discuss possible alternative descriptions of smectic order. In particular, we suggest an approach based on the real smectic…
Liquid crystals in two dimensions undergo a first-order isotropic-to-quasi-nematic transition, provided the particle interactions are sufficiently ``sharp and narrow''. This implies phase coexistence between isotropic and quasi-nematic…
We present a phenomenological theory for the phase behavior of ternary mixtures of cholesterol and saturated and unsaturated lipids, one which describes both liquid and gel phases, and illuminates the mechanism of the behavior. In a binary…
The phase behaviour of binary blends composed of A$_1$B$_1$ and A$_2$B$_2$ diblock copolymers is systematically studied using the polymeric self-consistent field theory, focusing on the formation and relative stability of various spherical…
We describe our recent proposal that distinct phases of gauge theories with fundamental quarks translate into specific types of low-energy behavior in Dirac spectral density. The resulting scenario is built around new evidence…
I consider the effects of polymers on the smectic phase of a host liquid crystal matrix. Focusing on the regime in which the polymers are predominately confined between the smectic layers, I find that the presence of the polymers can lead…
Different liquid crystalline phases with long-range orientational but not positional order, so-called nematic phases, are scarce. It rarely occurs that a new nematic phase is discovered and such event is inevitably accompanied by a great…
Lipid bilayer membranes below their main transition have two tilt order parameters, corresponding to the two monolayers. These two tilts may be strongly coupled to membrane shape but only weakly coupled to each other. We discuss some…
In the hexagonal columnar phase of chiral polymers a bias towards cholesteric twist competes with braiding along an average direction. When the chirality is strong, topological defects proliferate, leading to either a tilt grain boundary…
We study the phase ordering colloids suspended in a thermotropic nematic liquid crystal below the clearing point Tni and the resulting aggregated structure. Small (150nm) PMMA particles are dispersed in a classical liquid crystal matrix,…
We study the smectic $A$-$C$ phase transition in biaxial disordered environments, e.g. fully anisotropic aerogel. We find that both the $A$ and $C$ phases belong to the universality class of the "XY Bragg glass", and therefore have…
We once more specify an universality of a phase transition from smectic-A to nematic phase in the crosslinked polymer network with a smectic liquid crystal, basing on the X-ray and $^1H$-NMR spectroscopy experiments. Comparing the…
We study a three-dimensional system of particles interacting via spherically-symmetric pair potentials consisting of several discontinuous steps. We show that at certain values of the parameters desribing the potential, the system has three…