Related papers: Chirality transfer in lyotropic twist-bend nematic…
We introduce a model for a fluid of polydisperse rounded hard rectangles where the length and width of the rectangular core are fixed, while the roundness is taken into account by the convex envelope of a disk displaced along the perimeter…
We present a continuum model for a nematic elastomer network formed in a chiral environment, for instance in the presence of a chiral solvent. When this environment is removed, the network can retain some memory of its chiral genesis. We…
As much as chiral metasurfaces are significant in stereochemistry and polarization control, tunable chiroptical response is important for their dynamic counterparts. A single metasurface device with invertible chiral states can selectively…
In equilibrium hard-rod fluids, and in effective hard-rod descriptions of anisotropic soft-particle systems, the transition from the isotropic (I) phase to the nematic phase (N) is observed above the rod aspect ratio L/D = 3.70 as predicted…
Nematic phase is the most fundamental mesophase exhibited by most of the rod shaped anisotropic liquid crystalline molecules. Nematics are orientationally ordered fluids whose average orientation direction can be manipulated on application…
When chiral liquid crystals or magnets are subjected to applied fields or other anisotropic environments, the competition between favored twist and anisotropy leads to the formation of complex defect structures. In some cases, the defects…
We analyse solutions of the MHD equations around the electroweak transition taking into account the effects of the chiral anomaly. It is shown that a transition that is not of the first order has direct consequences on the evolution of the…
Binary mixtures of the twist-bend nematic-forming liquid crystal CB7CB with the prototypical rod-like liquid crystal 5CB exhibit a twist-bend nematic phase with properties similar to those reported for neat CB7CB. The mixtures appear…
Optical birefringence measurements on a rod-like liquid crystal (8OCB), imbibed in silica channels (7 nm diameter), are presented and compared to the thermotropic bulk behavior. The orientational and positional order of the confined liquid…
We perform extensive Monte Carlo simulations of a two-dimensional bent hard-needle model in both its chiral zig-zag and its achiral bow-shape configurations and present their phase diagrams. We find evidence for a variety of stable phases:…
We show that the relative stability of the nematic tetratic phase with respect to the usual uniaxial nematic phase can be greatly enhanced by clustering effects. Two--dimensional rectangles of aspect ratio $\kappa$ interacting via hard…
Elastic constants of splay K_11, twist K_22, and bend K_33 of nematic liquid crystals are often assumed to be equal to each other in order to simplify the theoretical description of complex director fields. Here we present examples of how…
We have calculated the phase diagrams of one--component fluids made of five types of biaxial particles differing in their cross sections. The orientation of the principal particle axis is fixed in space, while the second axis is allowed to…
Weyl semimetals are a three dimensional gapless topological phase in which bands intersect at arbitrary points -- the Weyl nodes -- in the Brillouin zone. These points carry a topological quantum number known as the \emph{chirality} and…
The transition from a nematic to an isotropic state in a self-closing spherical liquid crystal shell with tangential alignment is a stimulating phenomenon to investigate, as the topology dictates that the shell exhibits local isotropic…
Using particle-resolved molecular-dynamics simulations, we compute the phase diagram for soft repulsive spherocylinders confined on the surface of a sphere. While crystal (K), smectic (Sm), and isotropic (I) phases exhibit a stability…
Proteins often form chiral assembly structures on a biomembrane. However, the role of the chirality in the interaction with an achiral membrane is poorly understood. Here, the differential behavior between chiral and achiral crescent-shaped…
It is well known that the difference between the chemical potentials of left-handed and right-handed particles in a parity violating (chiral) plasma can lead to an instability. We show that the chiral instability may drive turbulent…
We consider a Lebwohl-Lasher model of chiral particles confined in a planar cell (slit pore) with different boundary conditions, and solve it using mean-field theory. The phase behaviour of the system with respect to temperature and pore…
Chirality is a pervasive form of symmetry that is intimately connected to the physical properties of solids, as well as the chemical and biological activity of molecular systems. However, its control with light is challenging, because…