Related papers: Dynamic flexoelectric instabilities in nematic liq…
Mesogenic dimers in the twist-bend nematic phase exhibit much higher flexoelectric polarization than in their uniform nematic phase. In order to theoretically investigate this data, we extend the symmetry based linear elastic theory of the…
We develop a formal analogy between configurational stresses in two distinct physical systems, and study the flows that they induce when the configurations of interest include topological de- fects. The two systems in question are…
The stability of a flow of an electrically conducting, incompressible fluid in a channel with an imposed uniform wall-normal magnetic field and electrically insulating walls is studied using linear stability analysis and direct numerical…
Liquid crystals (LCs) play a fundamental and significant role in modern technology. Recently, they have also been used in active switching, adaptive optics, and next-generation displays for augmented and virtual reality. This is due to the…
The flexoelectric (FE) effect provides a linear coupling between electric polarization and orientational deformation in liquid crystals. It influences many electrooptical phenomena and it is used in some bistable nematic devices. 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…
Necking instabilities, in which tensile (extensional) deformation localizes into a small spatial region, are generic failure modes in elasto-viscoplastic materials. Materials in this very broad class --- including amorphous, crystalline,…
Topological defects are a ubiquitous phenomenon in diverse physical systems. In nematic liquid crystals (LCs), they are dynamic, physicochemically distinct, sensitive to stimuli, and are thereby promising for a range of applications.…
We experimentally investigate the critical behavior of a phase transition between two topologically different turbulent states of electrohydrodynamic convection in nematic liquid crystals. The statistical properties of the observed…
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…
We develop a Landau theory for bend flexoelectricity in liquid crystals of bent-core molecules. In the nematic phase of the model, the bend flexoelectric coefficient increases as we reduce the temperature toward the nematic to polar phase…
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…
Nematic drops suspended in the isotropic phase of the same substance were subjected to alternating electrical fields of varying frequency. The system was carefully kept in the isotropic-nematic coexistance region, which was broadened due to…
The phase-field-crystal model for liquid crystals is solved numerically in two spatial dimensions. This model is formulated with three position-dependent order parameters, namely the reduced translational density, the local nematic order…
Studies of sessile droplets and fluid bridges of a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal in externally applied electric fields are presented. It is found that above a threshold, the interface of the fluid with air undergoes a fingering…
Eccentric Keplerian discs are believed to be unstable to three-dimensional hydrodynamical instabilities driven by the time-dependence of fluid properties around an orbit. These instabilities could lead to small-scale turbulence, and…
We use a fluctuating hydrodynamic approach to calculate the orientation fluctuations correlation functions of a thermotropic nematic liquid crystal in a nonequilibrium state induced by a stationay heat flux. Since in this nonequilibrium…
We present a theoretical explanation for the interfacial zigzag instability that appears in anisotropic systems. Such an instability has been experimentally highlighted for an Ising wall formed in a nematic liquid crystal cell under…
The instability of the interface between a dielectric and a conducting liquid, excited by a spatially homogeneous interface-normal time-periodic electric field, is studied based on experiments and theory. Special attention is paid to the…
The linear stability of stratified two-phase flows in rectangular ducts is studied numerically. The linear stability analysis takes into account all possible infinitesimal three-dimensional disturbances and is carried out by solution of the…