Theoretical predictions of disclination loop growth for nematic liquid crystals under capillary confinement

Alireza Shams, Xuxia Yao, Jung Ok Park, Mohan Srinivasarao, and Alejandro D. Rey
Phys. Rev. E 90, 042501 – Published 14 October 2014

Abstract

The combination of low elasticity modulus, anisotropy, and responsiveness to external fields drives the rich variety of experimentally observed pattern formation in nematic liquid crystals under capillary confinement. External fields of interest in technology and fundamental physics are flow fields, electromagnetic fields, and surface fields due to confinement. In this paper we present theoretical and simulation studies of the pattern formation of nematic liquid crystal disclination loops under capillary confinement including branching processes from a m=+1 disclination line to two m=+1/2 disclination curves that describe the postnucleation and growth regime of the textural transformation from radial to planar polar textures. The early postnucleation and growth of emerging disclination loops in cylindrical capillaries are characterized using analytical and computational methods based on the nematic elastica that takes into account line tension and line bending stiffness. Using subdiffusive growth and constant loop anisotropy, we found that the solution to the nematic elastica is a cusped elliptical geometry characterized by exponential curvature variations. The scaling laws that govern the loop growth reflect the tension to bending elasticity balance and reveal that the loop dilation rate depends on the curvature and normal velocity of the disclination. The line energy growth is accommodated by the decrease in branch-point curvature. These findings contribute to the evolving understanding of textural transformations in nematic liquid crystals under confinement using the nematic elastic methodology.

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  • Received 22 April 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.90.042501

©2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Alireza Shams1, Xuxia Yao2, Jung Ok Park2,3, Mohan Srinivasarao2,3,4, and Alejandro D. Rey1,*

  • 1Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C5, Canada
  • 2School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
  • 3Center for Advanced Research on Optical Microscopy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
  • 4School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA

  • *Corresponding author: alejandro.rey@mcgill.ca

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Vol. 90, Iss. 4 — October 2014

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