Related papers: Light-induced multistability and Freedericksz tran…
An optically-induced thermal non-linear effect in a nematic liquid-crystal (E7) cell is evidenced through weak light-absorption by the ITO coating of an infrared pulsed femtosecond laser (m). Strong spatial self-phase modulation is…
Spectral manifestations of hybrid Tamm-microcavity modes in a 1D photonic crystal bounded with a silver layer and containing a nematic liquid crystal layer working as a microcavity have been studied using numerical simulation. It is…
The control of light by light is one of the main aims in modern photonics. In this context, a fundamental cornerstone is the realization of light-written waveguides in real time, resulting in all-optical reconfigurability of communication…
Liquid crystals in two dimensions do not support long-ranged nematic order, but a quasi-nematic phase where the orientational correlations decay algebraically is possible. The transition from the isotropic to the quasi-nematic phase can be…
We consider light transmission in 2D photonic crystal waveguide coupled with two identical nonlinear defects positioned symmetrically aside the waveguide. We show that with growth of injected light power there is a breaking of symmetry by…
The surface alignment of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) can be not only planar (tangential) but also homeotropic, with self-assembled aggregates perpendicular to the substrate, as demonstrated by mapping optical retardation and…
Molecular orientation fluctuations in ferroelectric smectic liquid crystals produce space charges, due to the divergence of the spontaneous polarization. These space charges interact with mobile ions, so that one must consider the coupled…
Deviations of molecular shapes from spherical symmetry may give rise to a variety of novel phenomena, including their dynamic behavior. It has recently been predicted [Mazza \textit{et al}. Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{105}, 227802 (2010)] that…
Nematic liquid crystals exhibit both crystal-like and fluid-like features. In particular, the propagation of an acoustic wave shows an unexpected occurrence of some of the solid-like features at the hydrodynamic level, namely, the…
We show that the flux line lattice in a model layered HTSC becomes unstable above a critical magnetic field with respect to a plastic deformation via penetration of pairs of point-like disclination defects. The instability is characterized…
The phase transition from the isotropic (I) to nematic (N) liquid crystalline suspension of F-actin of average length $3~\mu$m or above was studied by local measurements of optical birefringence and protein concentration. Both parameters…
We show how to simulate the equatorial section of the Schwarzschild metric through a flowing liquid crystal in its nematic phase. Inside a liquid crystal in the nematic phase, a traveling light ray feels an effective metric, whose…
We demonstrate how to achieve reversible nonreciprocal optical response in a periodic photonic structure with a pair of defects, one of them being a nonlinear liquid crystal defect layer. The twin defect layers structure is symmetric at low…
Study of electrokinetics of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) with dissolved impurities hold utmost importance in understanding director distribution characteristics and modified flow rheology. However, no concrete theory for the non-uniform…
We studied in-plane bistable alignments of nematic liquid crystals confined by two frustrated surfaces by means of Monte Carlo simulations of the Lebwohl-Lasher spin model. The surfaces are prepared with orientational checkerboard patterns,…
In this work, we rigorously derive effective dynamics for light from within a limited frequency range propagating in a photonic crystal that is modulated on the macroscopic level; the perturbation parameter $\lambda \ll 1$ quantifies the…
The general Ericksen-Leslie system for the flow of nematic liquid crystals is reconsidered in the non-isothermal case aiming for thermodynamically consistent models. The non-isothermal model is then investigated analytically. A fairly…
The ability to manipulate polar entities with multiple external fields opens exciting possibilities for emerging functionalities and novel applications in spin systems, photonics, metamaterials, and soft matter. Liquid crystals (LCs),…
Active nematics are materials composed of mobile, elongated particles that can transform energy from the environment into a mechanical motion. Current experimental realizations of the active nematics are of biological origin and include…
Liquid crystal elastomers are rubbers with liquid crystal order. They contract along their nematic director when heated or illuminated. The shape changes are large and occur in a relatively narrow temperature interval, or at low…