Related papers: Complex-tensor theory of simple smectics
Exploring structural order in disordered systems including liquids and glasses is an intriguing but challenging issue in condensed matter physics. Here we construct a new parameter based on the angular distribution function of particles and…
We use molecular dynamics to study the ordering of a nematic liquid crystal around a spherical particle or droplet. Homeotropic boundary conditions and strong anchoring create a hedgehog director configuration on the particle surface and in…
Keeping in mind the experimental results that indicate local lattice distortions, charge and spin orderings, we have developed a phenomenological approach which allows us to describe the electronic phase diagram of cuprates and related…
We present several ordering mechanisms in diblock copolymers. For temperatures above the order-disorder temperature and in the weak segregation regime, a linear response theory is presented which gives the polymer density in the vicinity of…
Phase separation in a complex fluid with lamellar order has been studied in the case of cold thermal fronts propagating diffusively from external walls. The velocity hydrodynamic modes are taken into account by coupling the…
Liquid crystals have proven to provide a versatile experimental and theoretical platform for studying topological objects such as vortices, skyrmions, and hopfions. In parallel, in hard condensed matter physics, the concept of topological…
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 investigate the ordering properties of vertically-vibrated monolayers of granular cylinders in a circular container at high packing fraction. In line with previous works by other groups, we identify liquid-crystalline ordering behaviour…
In vivo and in vitro systems of cells and extra-cellular matrix (ECM) systems are well known to form ordered patterns of orientationally aligned fibers. Here, we interpret them as active analogs of the (disordered) isotropic to the…
Paradigmatic model systems, which are used to study the mechanical response of matter, are random networks of point-atoms, random sphere packings, or simple crystal lattices, all of these models assume central-force interactions between…
The concept of quantum-mechanical nematic order, which is important in systems such as superconductors, is based on an analogy to classical liquid crystals, where order parameters are obtained through orientational expansions. We generalize…
Homogeneous populations of oscillators have recently been shown to exhibit stable coexistence of coherent and incoherent regions. Generalizing the concept of chimera states to the context of order-disorder transition in systems at thermal…
Modeling liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) at the molecular level is crucial for the predictable design of energy-conversion and stimuli-responsive materials. Here, we develop a self-consistent field theory for LCEs which captures the…
Topological states of fermionic matter can be induced by means of a suitably engineered dissipative dynamics. Dissipation then does not occur as a perturbation, but rather as the main resource for many-body dynamics, providing a targeted…
To enlighten the nature of the order-disorder and order-order transitions in block copolymer melts confined in narrow capillaries we analyze peculiarities of the conventional Landau weak crystallization theory of systems confined to…
Recent advancements in the synthesis of anisotropic macromolecules and nanoparticles have spurred an immense interest in theoretical and computational studies of self-assembly. The cornerstone of such studies is the role of shape in…
We present a novel framework for the study of disclinations in two-dimensional active nematic liquid crystals, and topological defects in general. The order tensor formalism is used to calculate exact multi-particle solutions of the…
We propose a general formalism to characterize orientational frustration of smectic liquid crystals in confinement by interpreting the emerging networks of grain boundaries as objects with a topological charge. In a formal idealization,…
A theory of structure is formulated for systems of many structureless classical particles with stable local interactions in Euclidean space. Such systems are shown to have their structure in thermodynamic equilibrium determined exactly by a…
Ordered phases on curved substrates experience a complex interplay of ordering and intrinsic curvature, commonly producing frustration and singularities. This is an especially important issue in crystals as ever-smaller scale materials are…