Long-Ranged Order and Flow Alignment in Sheared p‐atic Liquid Crystals

Luca Giomi, John Toner, and Niladri Sarkar
Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 067801 – Published 5 August 2022

Abstract

We formulate a hydrodynamic theory of p-atic liquid crystals, namely, two-dimensional anisotropic fluids endowed with generic p-fold rotational symmetry. Our approach, based on an order parameter tensor that directly embodies the discrete rotational symmetry of p-atic phases, allows us to unveil several unknown aspects of flowing p-atics, that previous theories, characterized by O(2) rotational symmetry, could not account for. This includes the onset of long-ranged orientational order in the presence of a simple shear flow of arbitrary shear rate, as opposed to the standard quasi-long-ranged order of two-dimensional liquid crystals, and the possibility of flow alignment at large shear rates.

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  • Received 21 October 2021
  • Accepted 24 June 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.067801

© 2022 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Polymers & Soft Matter

Authors & Affiliations

Luca Giomi1,*, John Toner2, and Niladri Sarkar1

  • 1Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, P.O. Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
  • 2Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA

  • *giomi@lorentz.leidenuniv.nl

See Also

Hydrodynamic theory of p-atic liquid crystals

Luca Giomi, John Toner, and Niladri Sarkar
Phys. Rev. E 106, 024701 (2022)

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Vol. 129, Iss. 6 — 5 August 2022

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