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Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
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Umbilical defect dynamics in an inhomogeneous nematic liquid crystal layer
Valeska Zambra1, Marcel G Clerc1, Raouf Barboza1,2
1Departamento de Física and Millennium Institute for Research in Optics, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 487-3, Santiago, Chile.
Physical Review. E
|July 22, 2020
Summary
Defects in liquid crystals coarsen over time. Imperfections like glass beads alter this process, changing the coarsening law exponent and attracting topological defects.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Nematic liquid crystals exhibit topological defects.
- Defect interactions drive coarsening in homogeneous systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate defect coarsening dynamics in heterogeneous liquid crystal samples.
- Characterize the influence of imperfections on defect behavior.
Main Methods:
- Experimental observation of coarsening in liquid crystals with glass bead spacers.
- Theoretical modeling of diluted vortices in a dipolar medium.
Main Results:
- Inclusion of glass beads modifies the coarsening law exponent.
- Deformed beads exhibit quadrupolar behavior, attracting topological vortices.
- Experimental results align with a theoretical 2/3 exponent prediction.
Conclusions:
- Heterogeneities significantly impact defect coarsening in liquid crystals.
- Topological defect interactions are tunable via material imperfections.
- The study provides insights into defect dynamics in disordered systems.
