TY - JOUR
T1 - Geodesic defect anchoring on nematic shells
AU - Mirantsev, Leonid V.
AU - Sonnet, Andre
AU - Virga, Epitanio G.
PY - 2012/8/23
Y1 - 2012/8/23
N2 - Nematic shells are colloidal particles coated with nematic liquid crystal molecules, which may freely glide and rotate on the colloid's surface while keeping their long axis on the local tangent plane. Molecular dynamics simulations on a nanoscopic spherical shell indicate that under appropriate adhesion conditions for the molecules on the equator, the equilibrium nematic texture exhibits at each pole a pair of +1/2 defects so close to one another to be treated as one +1 defect. Spirals connect the polar defects, though the continuum limit of the interaction potential would not feature any elastic anisotropy. A molecular averaging justifies an anchoring defect energy that feels the geodesics emanating from the defect. All our observations are explained by such a geodesic anchoring, which vanishes on flat manifolds.
AB - Nematic shells are colloidal particles coated with nematic liquid crystal molecules, which may freely glide and rotate on the colloid's surface while keeping their long axis on the local tangent plane. Molecular dynamics simulations on a nanoscopic spherical shell indicate that under appropriate adhesion conditions for the molecules on the equator, the equilibrium nematic texture exhibits at each pole a pair of +1/2 defects so close to one another to be treated as one +1 defect. Spirals connect the polar defects, though the continuum limit of the interaction potential would not feature any elastic anisotropy. A molecular averaging justifies an anchoring defect energy that feels the geodesics emanating from the defect. All our observations are explained by such a geodesic anchoring, which vanishes on flat manifolds.
KW - nematic shells
KW - molecular dynamics simulations
KW - nematic liquid crystal molecules
UR - http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.020703
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevE.86.020703
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevE.86.020703
M3 - Article
VL - 86
JO - Physical Review E: Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics
JF - Physical Review E: Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics
SN - 1539-3755
IS - 2
M1 - 020703(R)
ER -