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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Boundary Vortex Formation In Polarization-Modulated Orthogonal Smectic Liquid Crystals, Carlos J. García-Cervera, Tiziana Giorgi, Sookyung Joo
Boundary Vortex Formation In Polarization-Modulated Orthogonal Smectic Liquid Crystals, Carlos J. García-Cervera, Tiziana Giorgi, Sookyung Joo
Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications
We investigate the relaxation of an energy functional originated in the physics literature to study the bistability of polarization modulated orthogonal smectic phases (SmAPFmod) of bent-core molecules liquid crystals. We show that the interplay between the mixed boundary conditions and the shape of the sample results in boundary defects. We also analyze the bistable switching due to an applied electric field via gradient flow numerical simulations. Our computations reveal a novel dynamic scenario, where switching is achieved by the formation of two internal vortices.
Switching Mechanism In The B-1revtilted Phase Of Bent-Core Liquid Crystals, Carlos J. García-Cervera, Tiziana Giorgi, Sookyung Joo, Xin Yang Lu
Switching Mechanism In The B-1revtilted Phase Of Bent-Core Liquid Crystals, Carlos J. García-Cervera, Tiziana Giorgi, Sookyung Joo, Xin Yang Lu
Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications
The B1RevTilted is a uniformly smectic tilted columnar phase in which the macroscopic polarization can be reorientated via electric field. To study the effects on the reorientation mechanism of the various physical parameters, we analyze a local, and a non-local Landau-de Gennes-type energy functional. For the case of large columnar samples, we show that both energies give the same qualitative behavior, with a relevant role played by the terms that describe the interaction between polarization and nematic directors. We also obtain existence of the L2-gradient flow in metric spaces for the full local energy.