Geodesic defect anchoring on nematic shells

Leonid V. Mirantsev; Andre Sonnet; Epitanio G. Virga

doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.86.020703

Geodesic defect anchoring on nematic shells

Leonid V. Mirantsev, Andre Sonnet, Epitanio G. Virga

Mathematics And Statistics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

9 Citations (Scopus)

77 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Article number	020703(R)
Number of pages	4
Journal	Physical Review E
Volume	86
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.020703
Publication status	Published - 23 Aug 2012

Fingerprint

Geodesic

Shell

Defects

defects

Molecules

Glide

Equator

Tangent plane

Flat Manifold

elastic anisotropy

Spherical Shell

Colloids

Continuum Limit

spherical shells

Nematic Liquid Crystal

equators

Adhesion

tangents

Justify

Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Keywords

nematic shells
molecular dynamics simulations
nematic liquid crystal molecules

Cite this

Mirantsev, L. V., Sonnet, A., & Virga, E. G. (2012). Geodesic defect anchoring on nematic shells. Physical Review E, 86(2), [020703(R)]. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.020703

Mirantsev, Leonid V. ; Sonnet, Andre ; Virga, Epitanio G. / Geodesic defect anchoring on nematic shells. In: Physical Review E. 2012 ; Vol. 86, No. 2.

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Mirantsev, LV, Sonnet, A & Virga, EG 2012, 'Geodesic defect anchoring on nematic shells', Physical Review E, vol. 86, no. 2, 020703(R). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.020703

Geodesic defect anchoring on nematic shells. / Mirantsev, Leonid V.; Sonnet, Andre; Virga, Epitanio G.

In: Physical Review E, Vol. 86, No. 2, 020703(R), 23.08.2012.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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