Issue |
EPL
Volume 78, Number 6, June 2007
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 66001 | |
Number of page(s) | 5 | |
Section | Condensed Matter: Structural, Mechanical and Thermal Properties | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/78/66001 | |
Published online | 24 May 2007 |
Shape of nematic droplets in smectic membranes
1
Institute of Solid State Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences - 142432, Chernogolovka, Moscow District, Russia
2
Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, CNRS - Avenue A. Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac, France
3
Laboratoire de Dynamique et Structure des Materiaux Moleculaires, UMR CNRS 8024 Université de Lille I - 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq, France
Received:
7
February
2007
Accepted:
30
April
2007
We found that the nematic droplets in smectic membranes and the configuration of the c-director field near droplets may rearrange drastically with droplet size and temperature. Investigations were made in the membranes with quadrupolar droplets. Large droplets are nearly circular, whereas small droplets become elongated. The elongation of the droplets increases with decreasing droplet size. At high temperature the droplets are found to be spindlelike with two cusps on their boundary. The observed transformations are explained by the competition between the elastic energy of the director field and the surface tension of the interface between the droplets and the smectic membrane.
PACS: 61.30.Jf – Defects in liquid crystals / 61.30.Gd – Orientational order of liquid crystals; electric and magnetic field effects on order / 81.16.Dn – Self-assembly
© Europhysics Letters Association, 2007
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.