Flexoelectric blue phases

Abstract

We describe the occurence and properties of liquid crystal phases showing two dimensional splay and bend distortions which are stabilised by flexoelectric interactions. These phases are characterised by regions of locally double splayed order separated by topological defects and are thus highly analogous to the blue phases of cholesteric liquid crystals. We present a mean field analysis based upon the Landau--de Gennes Q-tensor theory and construct a phase diagram for flexoelectric structures using analytic and numerical results. We stress the similarities and discrepancies between the cholesteric and flexoelectric cases.

4 pages, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett

References in corpus (2)

• Stabilising the Blue Phases
• Escape configuration lattice near the nematic-isotropic transition: Tilt analogue of blue phases

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• Weak antiferromagnetic ordering and pure magnetic reflections induced by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in MnSi-type crystals
• Interfacial motion in flexo- and order-electric switching between nematic filled states
• Flexoelectric switching in cholesteric blue phases
• Double Splay Nematic Order in Confined Polar Fluids
• Charge-, salt- and flexoelectricity-driven anchoring effects in nematics
• Ionically charged topological defects in nematic fluids
• Nematronics: Reciprocal coupling between ionic currents and nematic dynamics