相关论文: The liquid-crystalline smectic blue phases
We investigate quasicrystal-forming soft matter using a two-scale phase field crystal model. At state points near thermodynamic coexistence between bulk quasicrystals and the liquid phase, we find multiple metastable spatially localized…
We numerically investigate two-dimensional systems of hard rectangles at constant pressure through extensive hard-particle Monte Carlo simulations. We determine the complete phase diagram as a function of packing fraction and aspect ratio,…
We study the kinetics of the nematic-isotropic transition in a two-dimensional liquid crystal by using a lattice Boltzmann scheme that couples the tensor order parameter and the flow consistently. Unlike in previous studies, we find the…
We report the discovery of a new Twist Grain Boundary phase. This phase is characterised by a 2-dimensional undulation of the smectic C* like blocks in the form of a square lattice. We suggest that this three dimensionally modulated…
A two-dimensional system of soft particles interacting via a two-length-scale potential is studied. Density functional theory and Brownian dynamics simulations reveal a fluid phase and two crystalline phases with different lattice spacing.…
The structure of nematic liquid crystals formed by bent-core mesogens (BCMs) is studied in the context of Monte Carlo simulations of a simple molecular model that captures the symmetry, shape and flexibility of achiral BCMs. The results…
We study the smectic $A$-$C$ phase transition in biaxial disordered environments, e.g. fully anisotropic aerogel. We find that both the $A$ and $C$ phases belong to the universality class of the "XY Bragg glass", and therefore have…
We investigated the nematic to smectic transition undergone by parallel hard spherocylinders in the framework provided by the residual multi-particle entropy (RMPE) formalism. The RMPE is defined as the sum of all contributions to the…
This is a short review of recent x-ray diffraction studies of the phases and phase transitions of thermotropic liquid crystals. The areas covered are twist-grain-boundary phases, antiferroelectric phases studied with resonant x-ray…
I describe new phases of a chiral liquid crystal with nematic and hexatic order. I find a conical phase, similar to that of a cholesteric in an applied magnetic field for Frank elastic constants $K_2>K_3$. I discuss the role of fluctuations…
We study the topology of smectic defects in two and three dimensions. We give a topological classification of smectic point defects and disclination lines in three dimensions. In addition we describe the combination rules for smectic point…
We show that discotics, lying deep in the columnar phase, can exhibit an x-ray scattering pattern which mimics that of a somewhat unusual smectic liquid crystal. This exotic, new glassy phase of columnar liquid crystals, which we call a…
We have numerically studied a liquid composed of achiral, bent-shaped molecules built of tangent spheres. The system is known to spontaneously break mirror symmetry, as it forms a macroscopically chiral, twist-bend nematic phase [Phys. Rev.…
The origin and structure of self assembled chiral liquid crystalline Blue Phase III (BPIII) have remained an enigma despite efforts spreading over decades. We report here an off-lattice NVT molecular dynamics simulation study of a system of…
Liquid crystals are phases of matter intermediate between crystals and liquids. Whereas classical liquid crystals have been known for a long time and are used in electro-optical displays, much less is known about their quantum counterparts.…
Smectic liquid crystals are remarkable, beautiful examples of materials microstructure, with ordered patterns of geometrically perfect ellipses and hyperbolas. The solution of the complex problem of filling three-dimensional space with…
This paper complements a previous study of the isotropic and nematic phases of the Gay-Berne liquid-crystal model [Mehri et al., Phys. Rev. E 105, 064703 (2022)] with a study of its smectic B phase found at high density and low…
Many solid materials and liquid crystals exhibit geometric frustration, meaning that they have an ideal local structure that cannot fill up space. For that reason, the global phase must be a compromise between the ideal local structure and…
Ordered phases on curved substrates experience a complex interplay of ordering and intrinsic curvature, commonly producing frustration and singularities. This is an especially important issue in crystals as ever-smaller scale materials are…
We study the phase behaviour of cholesteric liquid crystal shells with different geometries. We compare the cases of tangential and no anchoring at the surface, focussing on the former case, which leads to a competition between the…