Related papers: Annihilation trajectory of defects in smectic-C fi…
We numerically study the orientation deformations in nematic liquid crystals around charged particles. We set up a Ginzburg-Landau theory with inhomogeneous electric field. If the dielectric anisotropy varepsilon_1 is positive, Saturn ring…
Motivated by a recent prediction to engineer the dispersion relation of a waveguide constructed from atomic components [arXiv:2104.08121], we explore the possibility to create directional transport in an open, collective quantum system. The…
The paper is concerned with various issues surrounding the mathematical description of defects in models of liquid crystals, drawing on experience from solid mechanics. The roles played by a suitable choice of function space and by the…
We study the spatiotemporal patterns that emerge when an active nematic film is topologically constraint. These topological constraints allow to control the non-equilibrium dynamics of the active system. We consider ellipsoidal shapes for…
In experiments, an individual chemically active liquid crystal (LC) droplet submerged in the bulk of a surfactant solution may self-propel along a straight, helical, or random trajectory. In this paper, we develop a minimal model capturing…
We investigate energetically favorable configurations of point disclinations in nematic films having a bump geometry. Gradual expansion in the bump width {\Delta} gives rise to a sudden shift in the stable position of the disclinations from…
Linear defects such as dislocations and disclinations in ordered materials attract foreign particles since they replace strong elastic distortions at the defect cores. In this work, we explore the behavior of isotropic droplets nucleating…
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…
We study the structure of very thin liquid crystal films frustrated by antagonistic anchorings in the smectic phase. In a cylindrical geometry, the structure is dominated by the defects for film thicknesses smaller than 150 nm and the…
Colloidal particles in a liquid crystal (LC) behave very differently from their counterparts in isotropic fluids. Elastic nature of the orientational order and surface anchoring of the director cause long-range anisotropic interactions and…
We give a topological classification of defect lines in cholesteric liquid crystals using methods from contact topology. By focusing on the role played by the chirality of the material, we demonstrate a fundamental distinction between…
Topological defects play an important role in physics of elastic media and liquid crystals. Their kinematics is determined by constraints of topological origin. An example is the glide motion of dislocations which has been extensively…
The properties of liquid crystals can be modelled using an order parameter which describes the variability of the local orientation of rod-like molecules. Defects in the director field can arise due to external factors such as applied…
The hydrodynamics of smectic films at an air-water interface is discussed, with particular focus on the viscous response of the film under flow normal to the layers. The corrections to the response functions of the smectic phase, arising…
The known ground state of ultrathin smectic films confined to the surface of a sphere is described by four +1/2 defects assembled on a great circle and a director which follows geodesic lines. Using a simple perturbative approach we show…
Directional media, such as nematic liquid crystals and ferromagnets, are characterized by their topologically stabilized defects in directional order. In nematics, boundary conditions and surface-treated inclusions often create complex…
A class of congruences of principal Volterra-type effective dislocation lines associated with a dislocation density tensor is distinguished in order to investigate the kinematics of continuized defective crystals in terms of their…
We report experiments on defect-tracking in the state of undulation chaos observed in thermal convection of an inclined fluid layer. We characterize the ensemble of defect trajectories according to their velocities, relative positions,…
Two-dimensional simulations of the coarsening process of the isotropic/smectic-A phase transition are presented using a high-order Landau-de Gennes type free energy model. Defect annihilation laws for smectic disclinations, elementary…
Numerical simulations using the Monte Carlo method were performed to study the electrical conductivity of two-dimensional films filled with rodlike particles (rods). The main goal was to investigate the effect of rod alignment on the…