Related papers: Smectic Layering: Landau theory for a complex-tens…
The phenomenological Landau-de Gennes (LdG) model is a powerful continuum theory to describe the macroscopic state of nematic liquid crystals. However, it is invariably less accurate and less physically informed than the molecular-level…
Observing and characterizing the complex ordering phenomena of liquid crystals subjected to external constraints constitutes an ongoing challenge for chemists and physicists alike. To elucidate the delicate balance appearing when the…
Modeling and simulation studies using a high-order Landau-de Gennes type model for the direct isotropic/smectic-A liquid crystal transition are presented showing the existence of meta-stable nematic pre-ordering under certain conditions, in…
Although pathway-specific kinetic theories are fundamentally important to describe and under- stand reversible polymerisation kinetics, they come in principle at a cost of having a large number of system-specific parameters. Here, we…
Liquid crystal networks exploit the coupling between the responsivity of liquid-crystalline mesogens, e.g., to electric fields, and the (visco)elastic properties of a polymer network. Because of this, these materials have been put forward…
We propose Landau phenomenology for describing the phase transition from the conventional nematic into the conical helical orientationally non-uniform structure recently identified in liquid crystals formed by "banana"-shaped molecules. The…
We propose a simple surface potential favoring the planar degenerate anchoring of nematic liquid crystals, i.e., the tendency of the molecules to align parallel to one another along any direction parallel to the surface. We show that, at…
The complex arrangements of atoms near grain boundaries are difficult to understand theoretically. We propose a phenomenological (Ginzburg-Landau-like) description of crystalline phases based on symmetries and fairly general stability…
Despite their considerable practical and biological applications, the link between molecular properties, assembly conditions and self-organized structure in confined polymer solutions remains elusive. Here, we explore the lyotropic nematic…
We propose an approach to a multiscale problem in the theory of thermotropic uniaxial nematics based on the method of statistical field theory. This approach enables us to relate the coefficients $A$, $B$, $C$, $L_1$ and $L_2$ of the…
Recent studies of the self-assembly of Langmuir monolayers have revealed novel forms of lateral molecular ordering. Such studies typically involve the use of grazing-incidence synchrotron radiation scattering, and the lateral order…
We report on a construction for smectic blue phases, which have quasi-long range smectic translational order as well as three dimensional crystalline order. Our proposed structures fill space by adding layers on top of a minimal surface,…
The mechanism by which a patterned state accommodates the breaking of translational symmetry by a phase boundary or a sample wall has been addressed in the context of Landau branching in type-I superconductors, refinement of magnetic…
We present a rigorous mathematical analysis of a modified Landau-de Gennes (LdG) theory modeling temperature-driven phase transitions between cholesteric, helical smectic, and smectic C* phases. This model couples a tensor-valued order…
A phenomenological free energy model is proposed to describe the behavior of smectic liquid crystals, an intermediate phase that exhibits orientational order and layering at the molecular scale. Advantageous properties render the functional…
Recent experiments report that the long looked for thermotropic biaxial nematic phase has been finally detected in some thermotropic liquid crystalline systems. Inspired by these experimental observations we concentrate on some elementary…
We study the topology of smectic defects in two and three dimensions. We give a topological classification of smectic point defects and disclination lines in three dimensions. In addition we describe the combination rules for smectic point…
Using Landau theory, it is shown that eight phenomenological parameters are needed to describe and distinguish the twelve viscosity coefficients of a biaxial nematic phase, or the five viscosity coefficients of a uniaxial nematic phase. The…
We present a new microscopic model of granular medium to study the role of dynamical correlations and the onset of spatial order induced by the inelasticity of the interactions. In spite of its simplicity, it features several different…
We show that Landau theory for the isotropic, nematic, smectic A, and smectic C phases generically, but not ubiquitously, implies de Vries behavior. I.e., a continuous AC transition can occur with little layer contraction; the birefringence…