Soft Matter Theory & Simulations Group

PRE: Liq. Cryst.

• Emission ellipsometry as a tool for luminescent liquid crystal phase transition identification
  Author(s): Gustavo G. Dalkiranis, E. M. Therézio, Gilmar Conte, Hugo Gallardo, I. H. Bechtold, and Alexandre MarlettaIn the present work, we have studied the liquid crystalline properties of a luminescent molecule, which presents smectic mesophases, using the emission ellipsometry technique. A methodology with photoselection of the excitation light to improv […]
• Pressure-induced phase transitions in liquid crystals: A molecular field approach
  Author(s): Sudeshna DasGupta, Sabana Shabnam, Soumyajit Pramanick, Nababrata Ghoshal, Ananda DasGupta, and Soumen Kumar RoyA rigorous microscopic treatment of a nematic fluid system based on a pairwise interaction potential is immensely complex. For studying such systems molecular field theories are often the standard method of choice. In this paper we have […]
• Influence of flexoelectric effect on the Fréedericksz transition in chiral nematic liquid crystals
  Author(s): A. D. Oskirko, S. V. Ul'yanov, and A. Yu. Val'kovElectric field driven Frèedericksz transition in chiral nematic (cholesteric) planar liquid crystal cell is studied in the presence of flexoelectric effect. An inhomogeneity of electric field and finiteness of anchoring energy are considered. The extra contribution to the electric field in […]
• Lifting ordered surfaces: Ellipsoidal nematic shells
  Author(s): Leonid V. Mirantsev, André M. Sonnet, and Epifanio G. VirgaWhen a material surface is functionalized so as to acquire some type of order, functionalization of which soft condensed matter systems have recently provided many interesting examples, the modeler faces an alternative. Either the order is described on the curved, physical surface where it […]
• Collective dielectric processes at the transition temperature of the $\mathrm{Sm}\text{−}{C}^{*}$ and $\mathrm{Sm}\text{−}{A}^{*}$ phase in a ferroelectric liquid crystal
  Author(s): Lokesh K. Gangwar, Ambika Bawa, Amit Choudhary, Surinder P. Singh, Rajesh, and Ashok M. BiradarAn anomalous dielectric relaxation process, called the partially unwound helical mode (p-UHM), is a collective dielectric process apart from the well known Goldstone and soft mode process; it is studied in the smectic ${C}^{*}$ ($\mathrm{Sm}\text{−}{C}^{ […]
• Comparing skyrmions and merons in chiral liquid crystals and magnets
  Author(s): Ayhan Duzgun, Jonathan V. Selinger, and Avadh SaxenaWhen chiral liquid crystals or magnets are subjected to applied fields or other anisotropic environments, the competition between favored twist and anisotropy leads to the formation of complex defect structures. In some cases, the defects are skyrmions, which have ${180}^{∘}$ double twist going o […]
• Reshaping of a Janus ring
  Author(s): A. P. Zakharov and L. M. PismenWe consider the reshaping of closed Janus filaments acquiring intrinsic curvature upon actuation of a driven component—a nematic elastomer elongating upon phase transition. Linear stability analysis establishes instability thresholds of circles with no imposed twist, dependent on the ratio $q$ of th...[Phys. Rev. E 9 […]
• Free-energy model for nanoparticle self-assembly by liquid crystal sorting
  Author(s): Noé Atzin, Orlando Guzmán, Oscar Gutiérrez, Linda S. Hirst, and Sayantani GhoshWe modeled the experimentally observed self-assembly of nanoparticles (NPs) into shells with diameters up to 10 $μ\mathrm{m}$, via segregation from growing nematic domains. Using field-based Monte Carlo simulations, we found the equilibrium configurations of the system […]
• Self-propelled motion switching in nematic liquid crystal droplets in aqueous surfactant solutions
  Author(s): Mariko Suga, Saori Suda, Masatoshi Ichikawa, and Yasuyuki KimuraThe self-propelled motions of micron-sized nematic liquid crystal droplets in an aqueous surfactant solution have been studied by tracking individual droplets over long time periods. Switching between self-propelled modes is observed as the droplet size decreases at a nearly constant […]
• Resonant x-ray scattering observation of transitional subphases during the electric-field-induced phase transition in a mixture of Se-containing chiral smectic liquid crystals
  Author(s): Atsuo Iida, Yoichi Takanishi, Atsuo Fukuda, and Jagdish K. VijUsing resonant x-ray scattering techniques, transitional subphases during the electric-field-induced phase transition of a mixture of Se-containing chiral liquid crystals, 80% AS657 and 20% AS620, in a planar-aligned cell geometry were investigated, where the prototypical phase sequence […]