Smectic Liquid Crystals: Materials with One-Dimensional, Periodic Order

Smectic liquid crystals are materials formed by stacking deformable, fluid layers. Though smectics prefer to have flat, uniformly-spaced layers, boundary conditions can impose curvature on the layers. Since the layer spacing and curvature are intertwined, the problem of finding minimal configurations for the layers becomes highly nontrivial. We discuss various topological and geometrical aspects of these materials and present recent progress on finding some exact layer configurations. We also exhibit connections to the study of certain embedded minimal surfaces and briefly summarize some important open problems.Comment: 16 page

Interaction between two rows of localized adsorption sites in a 2D one-component plasma

We compute the free energy for two rows of localized adsorption sites embedded in a two dimensional one-component plasma with neutralizing background density ρ. The interaction energy between the adsorption sites is repulsive. We also compute the average occupation number of the adsorption sites and compare it to the result for a single row of sites. The exact result indicates that the discretization does not induce charge asymmetry and no attractive forces occur.Ми розраховуємо вільну енергію для двох рядів локалізованих адсорбційних центрів, вставлених у двовимірну однокомпонентну плазму з густиною нейтралізуючого фону ρ. Енергія взаємодії між адсорбційними центрами є відштовхувальною. Ми також розраховуємо середнє число заповнення адсорбційних центрів і порівнюємо його з результатом для одного ряду центрів. Точний результат показує, що дискретизація не спричиняє зарядової асиметрії і не виникають сили притягання

Curvature correction to the mobility of fluid membrane inclusions

For the first time, using rigorous low-Reynolds-number hydrodynamic theory on curved surfaces via a Stokeslet-type approach, we provide a general and concise expression for the leading-order curvature correction to the canonical, planar, Saffman-Delbrück value of the diffusion constant for a small inclusion embedded in an arbitrarily (albeit weakly) curved fluid membrane. In order to demonstrate the efficacy and utility of this wholly general result, we apply our theory to the specific case of calculating the diffusion coefficient of a locally curvature inducing membrane inclusion. By including both the effects of inclusion and membrane elasticity, as well as their respective thermal shape fluctuations, excellent agreement is found with recently published experimental data on the surface tension dependent mobility of membrane bound inclusions

The prototype detection unit of the KM3NeT detector: KM3NeT Collaboration

A prototype detection unit of the KM3NeT deep-sea neutrino telescope has been installed at 3500m depth 80 km offshore the Italian coast. KM3NeT in its final configuration will contain several hundreds of detection units. Each detection unit is a mechanical structure anchored to the sea floor, held vertical by a submerged buoy and supporting optical modules for the detection of Cherenkov light emitted by charged secondary particles emerging from neutrino interactions. This prototype string implements three optical modules with 31 photomultiplier tubes each. These optical modules were developed by the KM3NeT Collaboration to enhance the detection capability of neutrino interactions. The prototype detection unit was operated since its deployment in May 2014 until its decommissioning in July 2015. Reconstruction of the particle trajectories from the data requires a nanosecond accuracy in the time calibration. A procedure for relative time calibration of the photomultiplier tubes contained in each optical module is described. This procedure is based on the measured coincidences produced in the sea by the $$^{40}$$40K background light and can easily be expanded to a detector with several thousands of optical modules. The time offsets between the different optical modules are obtained using LED nanobeacons mounted inside them. A set of data corresponding to 600 h of livetime was analysed. The results show good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations of the expected optical background and the signal from atmospheric muons. An almost background-free sample of muons was selected by filtering the time correlated signals on all the three optical modules. The zenith angle of the selected muons was reconstructed with a precision of about 3$$^\circ$$∘. © 2016, The Author(s)