Topological defects in cholesteric liquid crystal shells

Abstract

We investigate experimentally and numerically the defect configurations emerging when a cholesteric liquid crystal is confined to a spherical shell. We uncover a rich scenario of defect configurations, some of them non-existent in nematic shells, where new types of defects are stabilized by the helical ordering of the liquid crystal. In contrast to nematic shells, here defects are not simple singular points or lines, but have a large structured core. Specifically, we observe five different types of cholesteric shells. We study the statistical distribution of the different types of shells as a function of the two relevant geometrical dimensionless parameters of the system. By playing with these parameters, we are able to induce transitions between different types of shells. These transitions involve interesting topological transformations in which the defects recombine to form new structures. Surprisingly, the defects do not approach each other by taking the shorter distance route (geodesic), but by following intricate paths.

10 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Modeling planar degenerate wetting and anchoring in nematic liquid crystals
• Reconfigurable interactions and three-dimensional patterning of colloidal particles and defects in lamellar soft media
• Waltzing route towards double-helix formation in cholesteric shells
• Spherical nematics with a threefold valence

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Review: Topology of solitons and singular defects in chiral liquid crystals
• A change in stripes for cholesteric shells via anchoring in moderation
• Helfrich-Hurault elastic instabilities driven by geometrical frustration
• Cholesteric shells: two-dimensional blue fog and finite quasicrystals
• Undulation instabilities in cholesteric liquid crystals induced by anchoring transitions
• Contact Topology and the Structure and Dynamics of Cholesterics
• Elastic interactions between topological defects in chiral nematic shells
• Nematic versus ferromagnetic shells: new insights in curvature-induced effects
• Contact Topology and the Classification of Disclination Lines in Cholesteric Liquid Crystals
• Cooling a spherical nematic shell
• Topological Phases and Curvature-Driven Pattern Formation in Cholesteric Shells
• Curvature-driven stability of defects in nematic textures over spherical disks
• Symmetry and Thermodynamic Bounds on Cross-Coupling Transport in Chiral Liquid Crystals