Related papers: Acousto-microfluidic Control of Liquid Crystals
Active liquid crystals or active gels are soft materials which can be physically realised e.g. by preparing a solution of cytoskeletal filaments interacting with molecular motors. We study the hydrodynamics of an active liquid crystal in a…
I put forward a continuum theory for active nematic gels, defined as fluids or suspensions of orientable rodlike objects endowed with active dynamics, that is based on symmetry arguments and compatibility with thermodynamics. The starting…
Using novel micro-printing techniques, we develop a versatile experimental setup that allows us to study how lateral confinement tames the active flows and defect properties of the microtubule/kinesin active nematic system. We demonstrate…
In this study a variable capacitor made of Nematic Liquid Crystal cell is proposed and analyzed theoretically. The mutual capacitance is steered with an optical beam of a Gaussian shape launched into the cell. The optical field changes the…
We demonstrate several examples of driving and steering of colloids when dispersed in nematic liquid crystals. The driving mechanism is based on the principle of nonlinear electrophoresis which is mediated by the asymmetry in the structure…
Recent experimental developments showed that the use of the radiation pressure, induced by a continuous laser wave, to control fluid-fluid interface deformations at the microscale, represents a very promising alternative to electric or…
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…
Successful realization of ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals has opened up the possibility to experimentally study a completely new set of fundamental physical phenomena. In this contribution we present a detailed investigation of some…
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…
Recent experiments on active materials, such as dense bacterial suspensions and microtubule-kinesin motor mixtures, show a promising potential for achieving self-sustained flows. However, to develop active microfluidics it is necessary to…
Nematic liquid crystals at rough and fluctuating interfaces are analyzed within the Frank elastic theory and the Landau-de Gennes theory. We study specifically interfaces that locally favor planar anchoring. In the first part we reconsider…
We study light transmission through a homeotropically oriented nematic liquid crystal cell and solve self-consistently a nonlinear equation for the nematic director coupled to Maxwell's equations. We demonstrate that above a certain…
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…
Acousto-optic interaction in optomechanical crystals allows unidirectional control of elastic waves over optical waves. However, as a result of this nonlinear interaction, infinitely many optical modes are born. This article presents an…
Control of acoustic streaming can significantly impact fluid and particle transport in microfluidics. We report enhancement, suppression, and reversal of acoustic streaming inside a rectangular microchannel by controlling the fluid…
The effect of superimposed ac and dc electric fields on the formation of electroconvection and flexoelectric patterns in nematic liquid crystals was studied. For selected ac frequencies an extended standard model of the electro-hydrodynamic…
High-dimensional light field modulation demands precise control over multiple optical parameters, a capability critical for next-generation photonic systems. While liquid crystals offer inherent advantages in dynamic birefringence tuning,…
Active liquid crystals exert nonequilibrium stresses on their surroundings through constant consumption of energy, giving rise to dynamical steady states not present in equilibrium. The paradigmatic example of an active liquid crystal is a…
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…
We study a horizontal streaming excited by means of a low frequency and intensity acoustic wave in 2D freely suspended film of thermotropic smectic liquid crystal. Acoustic pressure induces fast periodic transverse oscillations of the film,…