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Cross-talk between topological defects in different fields revealed by nematic microfluidics.

Luca Giomi1, Žiga Kos2, Miha Ravnik1,3

  • 1Instituut-Lorentz for Theoretical Physics, Leiden University, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|July 5, 2017
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Summary

Researchers explored how topological defects in fluid flow influence defects in liquid crystals. They found that fluid flow singularities can create matching defects in the liquid crystal

Keywords:
cross-interactionsmicrofluidicsmultifield topologynematic liquid crystalstopological defects

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Area of Science:

  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Microfluidics
  • Topological Defects

Background:

  • Topological defects are crucial singularities in various physical systems, including cosmology and condensed matter.
  • Interactions between defects within a single material field are well-studied, but cross-field interactions remain largely unexplored.
  • Understanding coupled multifield topology is essential for materials with complex properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interplay between topological defects in distinct material fields: hydrodynamics and nematic liquid crystals.
  • To explore the cross-talk between coevolving defects within the same physical system.
  • To determine if hydrodynamic singularities can nucleate defects in the nematic orientational field.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized star-shaped microfluidic junctions to generate hydrodynamic stagnation points.
  • Employed nematic microfluidics to create and observe interactions between fluid flow and molecular orientational fields.
  • Combined experimental observations with analytical and numerical calculations.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated that hydrodynamic singularities can nucleate nematic topological defects of equal topological charge.
  • Successfully created topological defects with charges [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] in four-, six-, and eight-arm microfluidic junctions, respectively.
  • Validated the direct relationship between the topological charge of the hydrodynamic singularity and the nucleated nematic defect.

Conclusions:

  • Hydrodynamic singularities serve as nucleation sites for nematic topological defects with matching topological charges.
  • This study provides a foundational understanding of multifield topological coupling in materials.
  • Highlights the potential for controlling and designing materials with coupled topology-carrying fields.