Structural Landscapes in Geometrically Frustrated Smectics

Abstract

A phenomenological free energy model is proposed to describe the behavior of smectic liquid crystals, an intermediate phase that exhibits orientational order and layering at the molecular scale. Advantageous properties render the functional amenable to numerical simulation. The model is applied to a number of scenarios involving geometric frustration, leading to emergent structures such as focal conic domains and oily streaks and enabling detailed elucidation of the very rich energy landscapes that arise in these problems.

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• Dynamical field theories for biaxial liquid crystals
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• Topological fine structure of smectic grain boundaries and tetratic disclination lines within three-dimensional smectic liquid crystals
• Variational and numerical analysis of a $\mathbf{Q}$-tensor model for smectic-A liquid crystals
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