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Shape control of surface-stabilized disclination loops in nematic liquid crystals

Kanta Sunami1, Koki Imamura1, Tomohiro Ouchi1, Hiroyuki Yoshida1,2,*, and Masanori Ozaki1

  • 1Division of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
  • 2PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan

  • *Corresponding author: yoshida@eei.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp
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Phys. Rev. E 97, 020701(R) – Published 8 February, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.97.020701

Abstract

Recent studies on topological defects in conventional and active nematic liquid crystals have revealed their potential as sources of advanced functionality whereby the collective behavior of the constituent molecules or cells is controlled. On the other hand, the fact that they have high energies and are metastable makes their shape control a nontrivial issue. Here, we demonstrate stabilization of arbitrary-shaped closed disclination loops with 1/2 strength floating in the bulk by designing the twist angle distribution in a liquid crystal cell. Continuous variation of the twist angle from below to above |π/2| allows us to unambiguously position reverse twist disclinations at will. We also analyze the elastic free energy and uncover the relationship between the twist angle pattern and shrink rate of the surface-stabilized disclination loop.

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Phys. Rev. E 97, 020701(R)– Published 8 February, 2018
  • Received 4 December 2017
Article part of CHORUS
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