Soft Matter Theory & Simulations Group

PRE: Liq. Cryst.

• Anisotropic disclination cores in nematic liquid crystals modeled by a self-consistent molecular field theory
  Author(s): Cody D. Schimming and Jorge ViñalsDisclination configurations of a nematic liquid crystal are studied within a self-consistent molecular field theory. The theory is based on a tensor order parameter, and can accommodate anisotropic elastic energies without the known divergences in the Landau–de Gennes formulation. Our results agree ...[Phys. Rev. […]
• Annihilation trajectory of defects in smectic-$C$ films
  Author(s): Xingzhou Tang and Jonathan V. SelingerIn a two-dimensional liquid crystal, each topological defect has a topological charge and a characteristic orientation and hence can be regarded as an oriented particle. Theories predict that the trajectories of annihilating defects depend on their relative orientation. Recently, these predictions h...[Phys. R […]
• Dielectric study of a subphase stabilized in an exceptionally wide temperature range by a delicate balance of interlayer interactions and thermal fluctuations
  Author(s): Zhengyu Feng, Vigneshwaran Swaminathan, Vitaly P. Panov, Atsuo Fukuda, Ken Ishikawa, and Jagdish K. VijThe chiral smectic phases of calamitic liquid crystals, $\mathrm{Sm}{C}^{*}$ and $\mathrm{Sm}{C}_{A}^{*}$, are characterized by the synclinic ferroelectric $F$ ordering and the anticlinic antiferroelectric $A$ ordering in adjacent layers. Various […]
• Supersoft elasticity and slow dynamics of isotropic-genesis polydomain liquid crystal elastomers investigated by loading- and strain-rate-controlled tests
  Author(s): Asaka Takebe and Kenji UrayamaThe supersoft elasticity and slow dynamics of isotropic-genesis polydomain nematic elastomers are investigated by loading- and strain-rate-controlled tests. Loading-controlled tests reveal the stretching-driven polydomain-to-monodomain (PM) transition under true equilibrium condition without viscoel...[Phys. Rev. E 10 […]
• Rodlike molecules in extreme confinement
  Author(s): Xiaomei Yao and Jeff Z. Y. ChenA unique feature of colloid particles and biopolymers is the molecule's intrinsic rigidity characterized by a molecular-level length scale. Under extreme confinement conditions at cellular scales or in nanodevices, these molecules can display orientational ordering accompanied by severe density depl...[Phys. Rev […]
• Algebraic equations of state for the liquid crystalline phase behavior of hard rods
  Author(s): V. F. D. Peters, M. Vis, H. H. Wensink, and R. TuinierBased on simplifications of previous numerical calculations [H. Graf and H. Löwen, Phys. Rev. E 59, 1932 (1999)], we propose algebraic free energy expressions for the smectic-A liquid crystal phase and the crystal phases of hard spherocylinders. Quantitative agreement with simulations is found […]
• Umbilical defect dynamics in an inhomogeneous nematic liquid crystal layer
  Author(s): Valeska Zambra, Marcel G. Clerc, Raouf Barboza, Umberto Bortolozzo, and Stefania ResidoriElectrically driven nematic liquid crystals layers are ideal contexts for studying the interactions of local topological defects, umbilical defects. In homogeneous samples the number of defects is expected to decrease inversely proportional to time as a result […]
• Mechanogeometry of nanowrinkling in cholesteric liquid crystal surfaces
  Author(s): Ziheng Wang, Phillip Servio, and Alejandro D. ReyBiological plywoods are multifunctional fibrous composites materials, ubiquitous in nature. The chiral fibrous organization is found in chitin (insects), cellulosics (plants), and collagen I (cornea and bone of mammals) and is a solid analog of that of cholesteric liquid crystals. The surface and in […]
• Characterization of surface anchoring energy of nematic liquid crystals via electrohydrodynamic instability
  Author(s): Dae Geon Ryu, Jong-Hoon Huh, Young-Ki Kim, and Jin Seog GwagHerein, a method is proposed to determine the azimuthal anchoring energies of surface liquid crystals (LCs), as they gradually change orientation from a vertical to a horizontal state owing to an increase in the voltage applied to each LC cell. The LC cells are characterized using the dir […]
• Electrically driven nematic flow in microfluidic devices containing a temperature gradient
  Author(s): A. V. Zakharov, P. V. Maslennikov, and S. V. PasechnikFluid pumping principle has been developed utilizing the interaction, on the one hand, between the electric field $\mathbf{\text{E}}$ and the gradient $\mathbf{∇}\stackrel{̂}{\mathbf{\text{n}}}$ of the director's field, and, on the other hand, between the $\mathbf{∇}\stackrel{̂}{\mathbf{\t […]