Related papers: Determining the Anchoring Strength of a Capillary …
Rod-like objects at high packing fractions can form smectic phases, where the rods break rotational and translational symmetry by forming lamellae. Smectic defects thereby include both discontinuities in the rod orientational order…
Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the capillary adhesion from a nonvolatile liquid meniscus between a spherical tip and a flat substrate. The atomic structure of the tip, the tip radius, the contact angles of the liquid on…
The order parameter of the smectic liquid crystal phase is the same as that of a superfluid or superconductor, namely a complex scalar field. We show that the essential difference in boundary conditions between these systems leads to a…
We characterize all compact embedded stable minimal capillary surfaces with capillary angle close to either $0$ or $\pi$ that are supported on a complete embedded minimal surface with finite total curvature that is not an affine plane.…
In this work, we investigate the topological properties of knotted defects in smectic liquid crystals. Our story begins with screw dislocations, whose radial surface structure can be smoothly accommodated on $S^3$ for fibred knots by using…
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,…
Grain boundaries in extremely confined colloidal smectics possess a topological fine structure with coexisting nematic and tetratic symmetry of the director field. An alternative way to approach the problem of smectic topology is via the…
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…
The McMillan liquid crystalline models under the influence of homeotropic anchoring walls and of external fields are investigated. For thin systems, the existence of the critical thickness, below which the system does not undergo a discrete…
We consider the shear flow of well-aligned one-component smectic phases, such as thermotropic smectics and lamellar diblock copolymers, below the critical region. We show that, as a result of thermal fluctuations of the layers, parallel…
Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study capillary adhesion from a nanometer scale liquid bridge between two parallel flat solid surfaces. The capillary force and the meniscus shape of the bridge are computed as the separation…
Chiral condensed matter systems, such as liquid crystals and magnets, exhibit a host of spatially localized topological structures that emerge from the medium's tendency to twist and its competition with confinement and field coupling…
The capillary force was measured by atomic force microscopy between a gold coated sphere mounted on a cantilever and gold surfaces with different roughness. For smooth surfaces the capillary adhesive force surpasses in magnitude any…
We develop a theory of point defects in cholesterics and textures in spherical droplets with normal anchoring. The local structure of chiral defects is described by singularity theory and a smectic-like gradient field establishing a nexus…
Characterizing the anchoring properties of smectic liquid crystals (LCs) in contact with bacterial solutions is crucial for developing biosensing platforms. In this study, we investigate the anchoring properties of a smectic LC when exposed…
Anisotropic rod-like particles form liquid crystalline phases with varying degrees of orientational and translational order. When confined geometrically, these phases can give rise to topological defects, which can be selected and…
By means of a molecular model, we examine hybrid nematic films with antagonistic anchoring angles where one of the surfaces is in the strong anchoring regime. If anchoring at the other surface is weak, and in the absence of wetting by the…
We develop an effective bulk model with a topological boundary condition to study the surface states of topological insulators. We find that the Dirac point energy, the band curvature and the spin texture of surface states are crystal…
The liquid shape between two vertical parallel plates in a gravity field due to capillary forces is studied. When the physical system achieves its mechanical equilibrium, the capillary surface has mean curvature proportional to its height…
Monte Carlo simulation, experiment and continuum theory are used to examine the anchoring exhibited by a nematic liquid crystal at a patterned substrate comprising a periodic array of rectangles that, respectively, promote vertical and…