278 research outputs found
Density-functional study of defects in two-dimensional circular nematic nanocavities
We use density--functional theory to study the structure of two-dimensional
defects inside a circular nematic nanocavity. The density, nematic order
parameter, and director fields, as well as the defect core energy and core
radius, are obtained in a thermodynamically consistent way for defects with
topological charge (with radial and tangential symmetries) and .
An independent calculation of the fluid elastic constants, within the same
theory, allows us to connect with the local free--energy density predicted by
elastic theory, which in turn provides a criterion to define a defect core
boundary and a defect core free energy for the two types of defects. The radial
and tangential defects turn out to have very different properties, a feature
that a previous Maier--Saupe theory could not account for due to the simplified
nature of the interactions --which caused all elastic constants to be equal. In
the case with two defects in the cavity, the elastic r\'egime cannot
be reached due to the small radii of the cavities considered, but some trends
can already be obtained.Comment: 9 figures. Accepted for publication in liquid crystal
Nonlinear Effects in the TGB_A Phase
We study the nonlinear interactions in the TGB_A phase by using a
rotationally invariant elastic free energy. By deforming a single grain
boundary so that the smectic layers undergo their rotation within a finite
interval, we construct a consistent three-dimensional structure. With this
structure we study the energetics and predict the ratio between the intragrain
and intergrain defect spacing, and compare our results with those from linear
elasticity and experiment.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 2 included eps figure
Structure of smectic defect cores: an X-ray study of 8CB liquid crystal ultra-thin films
We study the structure of very thin liquid crystal films frustrated by
antagonistic anchorings in the smectic phase. In a cylindrical geometry, the
structure is dominated by the defects for film thicknesses smaller than 150 nm
and the detailed topology of the defects cores can be revealed by x-ray
diffraction. They appear to be split in half tube-shaped Rotating Grain
Boundaries (RGB). We determine the RGB spatial extension and evaluate its
energy per unit line. Both are significantly larger than the ones usually
proposed in the literatureComment: 4 page
Fluctuations of topological disclination lines in nematics: renormalization of the string model
The fluctuation eigenmode problem of the nematic topological disclination
line with strength is solved for the complete nematic tensor order
parameter. The line tension concept of a defect line is assessed, the line
tension is properly defined. Exact relaxation rates and thermal amplitudes of
the fluctuations are determined. It is shown that within the simple string
model of the defect line the amplitude of its thermal fluctuations is
significantly underestimated due to the neglect of higher radial modes. The
extent of universality of the results concerning other systems possessing line
defects is discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Towards the grain boundary phonon scattering problem: an evidence for a low-temperature crossover
The problem of phonon scattering by grain boundaries is studied within the
wedge disclination dipole (WDD) model. It is shown that a specific q-dependence
of the phonon mean free path for biaxial WDD results in a low-temperature
crossover of the thermal conductivity, . The obtained results allow to
explain the experimentally observed deviation of from a
dependence below in and .Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to J.Phys.:Condens.Matte
Iterated Moire Maps and Braiding of Chiral Polymer Crystals
In the hexagonal columnar phase of chiral polymers a bias towards cholesteric
twist competes with braiding along an average direction. When the chirality is
strong, screw dislocations proliferate, leading to either a tilt grain boundary
phase or a new "moire state" with twisted bond order. Polymer trajectories in
the plane perpendicular to their average direction are described by iterated
moire maps of remarkable complexity.Comment: 10 pages (plain tex) 3 figures uufiled and appende
Scaling of the elastic contribution to the surface free energy of a nematic on a sawtoothed substrate
We characterize the elastic contribution to the surface free energy of a
nematic in presence of a sawtooth substrate. Our findings are based on
numerical minimization of the Landau-de Gennes model and analytical
calculations on the Frank-Oseen theory. The nucleation of disclination lines
(characterized by non-half-integer winding numbers) in the wedges and apexes of
the substrate induces a leading order proportional to qlnq to the elastic
contribution to the surface free energy density, q being the wavenumber
associated with the substrate periodicity.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Electrostatic self-force in (2+1)-dimensional cosmological gravity
Point sources in (2+1)-dimensional gravity are conical singularities that
modify the global curvature of the space giving rise to self-interaction
effects on classical fields. In this work we study the electrostatic
self-interaction of a point charge in the presence of point masses in
(2+1)-dimensional gravity with a cosmological constant.Comment: 9 pages, Late
Close Packing of Atoms, Geometric Frustration and the Formation of Heterogeneous States in Crystals
To describe structural peculiarities in inhomogeneous media caused by the
tendency to the close packing of atoms a formalism based on the using of the
Riemann geometry methods (which were successfully applied lately to the
description of structures of quasicrystals and glasses) is developed. Basing on
this formalism we find in particular the criterion of stability of precipitates
of the Frank-Kasper phases in metallic systems. The nature of the ''rhenium
effect'' in W-Re alloys is discussed.Comment: 14 pages, RevTex, 2 PostScript figure
Classification of unit-vector fields in convex polyhedra with tangent boundary conditions
A unit-vector field n on a convex three-dimensional polyhedron P is tangent
if, on the faces of P, n is tangent to the faces. A homotopy classification of
tangent unit-vector fields continuous away from the vertices of P is given. The
classification is determined by certain invariants, namely edge orientations
(values of n on the edges of P), kink numbers (relative winding numbers of n
between edges on the faces of P), and wrapping numbers (relative degrees of n
on surfaces separating the vertices of P), which are subject to certain sum
rules. Another invariant, the trapped area, is expressed in terms of these. One
motivation for this study comes from liquid crystal physics; tangent
unit-vector fields describe the orientation of liquid crystals in certain
polyhedral cells.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figure
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