Tailored nematic and magnetization profiles on two-dimensional polygons

Yucen Han, Joseph Harris, Joshua Walton, and Apala Majumdar
Phys. Rev. E 103, 052702 – Published 10 May 2021

Abstract

We study dilute suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles in a nematic host, on two-dimensional polygons. These systems are described by a nematic order parameter and a spontaneous magnetization, in the absence of any external fields. We study the stable states in terms of stable critical points of an appropriately defined free energy, with a nemato-magnetic coupling energy. We numerically study the interplay between the shape of the regular polygon, the size of the polygon, and the strength of the nemato-magnetic coupling for the multistability of this prototype system. Our notable results include (1) the coexistence of stable states with domain walls and stable interior and boundary defects, (2) the suppression of multistability for positive nemato-magnetic coupling, and (3) the enhancement of multistability for negative nemato-magnetic coupling.

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  • Received 10 January 2021
  • Accepted 7 April 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.103.052702

©2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Yucen Han1,*, Joseph Harris1,†, Joshua Walton2,‡, and Apala Majumdar1,§

  • 1Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1XQ, United Kingdom
  • 2School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom

  • *yucen.han@strath.ac.uk
  • joseph.harris@strath.ac.uk
  • joshua.walton@glasgow.ac.uk
  • §Corresponding author: apala.majumdar@strath.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 103, Iss. 5 — May 2021

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