Soft Matter Theory & Simulations Group

PRE: Liq. Cryst.

• Anchoring transitions in thin liquid crystal films as seen from a mean-force potentials approach
  Author(s): Izabela Śliwa, Pavel V. Maslennikov, and Alex V. ZakharovStatistical mechanical theory based on the concept of mean-force potentials is used to describe anchoring transitions in a liquid-crystal system near a solid surface. This approach took into account not only the two-particle correlations between the nearest and next-nearest neighbors, but al […]
• Behavior of chemically powered Janus colloids in lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal
  Author(s): Devika Gireesan Sudha, Hend Baza, David P. Rivas, Sambeeta Das, Oleg D. Lavrentovich, and Linda S. HirstPlatinum-coated Janus colloids exhibit self-propelled motion in aqueous solution via the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. Here, we report their motion in a uniformly aligned nematic phase of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal, disod […]
• Effect of smectic polymers on cholesteric liquid crystals
  Author(s): Zhaofei Zheng and Francesca SerraComposite materials made of polymers and liquid crystals have been widely employed in smart windows, optical filters, and bistable displays. However, it is often difficult to decipher the role of the polymer network architecture on the alignment and the texture of liquid crystals. In this study, we …[Phys. Rev. E 1 […]
• Paired correlations of dipolar liquid crystals: A mean-force-potentials approach
  Author(s): Izabela Śliwa, Pavel V. Maslennikov, and Alex V. ZakharovPair correlations for a polar liquid-crystal (LC) system have been theoretically investigated by means of integral equation approach. Using the dipolar Gay-Berne (GB) interactions between the molecules that composed the LC system, calculations of the nearest-neighbor (NN) and next-NN (NNN) c […]
• Cell theories for the chiral crystal phase of hard equilateral triangles
  Author(s): Yuri Martínez-Ratón and Enrique VelascoWe derive several versions of the cell theory for a crystal phase of hard equilateral triangles. To that purpose we analytically calculated the free area of a frozen oriented or freely rotating particle inside the cavity formed by its neighbors in a chiral configuration of their orientations. From t…[Phys. Re […]
• Order-disorder behavior in the ferroelectric nematic phase investigated via Raman spectroscopy
  Author(s): Thomas Raistrick, Richard J. Mandle, Zhaopeng Zhang, Peter J. Tipping, and Helen F. GleesonPolar-ordered fluids are of interest both fundamentally and from an application standpoint. The recently discovered ferroelectric nematic phase is an example of a polar-ordered fluid, and while there has been extensive research interest in these materials, s […]
• Non-nematicity of the filamentary phase in systems of hard minor circular arcs
  Author(s): Juan Pedro Ramírez González and Giorgio CinacchiThis work further investigates an aspect of the phase behavior of hard circular arcs whose phase diagram has been recently calculated by Monte Carlo numerical simulations: the non-nematicity of the filamentary phase that hard minor circular arcs form. Both second-virial density-functional theory and… […]
• Ultraconfined oblate hard particles between hybrid penetrable walls
  Author(s): C. Anquetil-Deck, D. J. Cleaver, and P. I. C. TeixeiraWe have investigated, by Monte Carlo simulation, the orientational structure of very thin films of a discotic liquid crystal (DLC) confined between hybrid walls of controllable penetrability, as a function of wall separation ${L}_{z}$. Our purpose was to clarify whether, as predicted by continu […]
• Edge-on anchored discotic liquid crystals in spherical shells: A computational study of the phases and defects
  Author(s): Daniel Salgado-Blanco, Enrique Díaz-Herrera, José A. Martínez-González, and Carlos I. MendozaThe self-assembly of liquid crystal droplets and shells represents a captivating frontier in soft matter physics, promising precision engineering of functional materials. In this study, we delve into the phase behavior and investigate defect formation patt […]
• Nonsymmetrical thermal conductivity along the director field in ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals
  Author(s): Lidiane Maria de Souza, Junaid Sofi, and Erms PereiraThe synthesis of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals (FNLCs) concludes the long wait for their existence and potential usage in multiple liquid crystal based applications. In FNLCs, electric polarization in the nematic phase significantly decreases the switching time of in-on display pixels. I […]