1 research outputs found
Temporal Modulation of the Control Parameter in Electroconvection in the Nematic Liquid Crystal I52
I report on the effects of a periodic modulation of the control parameter on
electroconvection in the nematic liquid crystal I52. Without modulation, the
primary bifurcation from the uniform state is a direct transition to a state of
spatiotemporal chaos. This state is the result of the interaction of four,
degenerate traveling modes: right and left zig and zag rolls. Periodic
modulations of the driving voltage at approximately twice the traveling
frequency are used. For a large enough modulation amplitude, standing waves
that consist of only zig or zag rolls are stabilized. The standing waves
exhibit regular behavior in space and time. Therefore, modulation of the
control parameter represents a method of eliminating spatiotemporal chaos. As
the modulation frequency is varied away from twice the traveling frequency,
standing waves that are a superposition of zig and zag rolls, i.e. standing
rectangles, are observed. These results are compared with existing predictions
based on coupled complex Ginzburg-Landau equations