N−SmA−SmCphase transitions probed by a pair of elastically bound colloids
| Autor: | Arun Roy, K. P. Zuhail, Muhammed Rasi M, Surajit Dhara |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Physics
Phase transition Homeotropic alignment 02 engineering and technology 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 01 natural sciences Topological defect Condensed Matter::Soft Condensed Matter Colloid Crystallography Planar Liquid crystal 0103 physical sciences Exponent Elasticity (economics) 010306 general physics 0210 nano-technology |
| Zdroj: | Physical Review E. 97 |
| ISSN: | 2470-0053 2470-0045 |
| Popis: | The competing effect of surface anchoring of dispersed microparticles and elasticity of nematic and cholesteric liquid crystals has been shown to stabilize a variety of topological defects. Here we study a pair of colloidal microparticles with homeotropic and planar surface anchoring across $N\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Sm}A\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Sm}C$ phase transitions. We show that below the $\mathrm{Sm}A\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Sm}C$ phase transition the temperature dependence of interparticle separation $(D)$ of colloids with homeotropic anchoring shows a power-law behavior; $D\ensuremath{\sim}{(1\ensuremath{-}T/{T}_{AC})}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$, with an exponent $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\approx}0.5$. For colloids with planar surface anchoring the angle between the joining line of the centers of the two colloids and the far field director shows characteristic variation elucidating the phase transitions. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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