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Defect trajectories in nematic shells: Role of elastic anisotropy and thickness heterogeneity

David Seč1, Teresa Lopez-Leon2,3,*, Maurizio Nobili2,3, Christophe Blanc2,3, Alberto Fernandez-Nieves4, Miha Ravnik5,6, and Slobodan Žumer1,6,7

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, SLO-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • 2Université Montpellier 2, Laboratoire Charles Coulomb UMR5221, F-34095, Montpellier, France
  • 3CNRS, Laboratoire Charles Coulomb UMR5221, F-34095, Montpellier, France
  • 4School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, 837 State Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
  • 5Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
  • 6Center of Excellence NAMASTE, Jamova 39, SLO-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • 7Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SLO-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

  • *teresa.lopez-leon@univ-montp2.fr
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Phys. Rev. E 86, 020705(R) – Published 29 August, 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.020705

Abstract

We introduce the idea of transformation trajectories to describe the evolution of nematic shells in terms of defect locations and director field when the elastic anisotropy and the shell thickness heterogeneity vary. Experiments are compared to numerical results to clarify the exact role played by these two parameters. We demonstrate that heterogeneity in thickness is a result of a symmetry breaking initiated by buoyancy and enhanced by liquid crystal elasticity, and is irrespective of the elastic anisotropy. In contrast, elastic anisotropy—in particular, disfavored bend distortion—drives an asymmetric defect reorganization. These shell states can be both stable or metastable.

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. E 86, 020705(R)– Published 29 August, 2012
  • Received 9 February 2012
Article part of CHORUS

©2012 American Physical Society

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