TY - JOUR
T1 - Telephone-cord instabilities in thin smectic capillaries
AU - Biscari, Paolo
AU - Calderer, Maria Carme
PY - 2005/5
Y1 - 2005/5
N2 - Telephone-cord patterns have been recently observed in smectic liquid-crystal capillaries. We analyze the effects that may induce them. As long as the capillary keeps its linear shape, we show that a nonzero chiral cholesteric pitch favors the Sm-A*-Sm-C* transition. However, neither the cholesteric pitch nor the presence of an intrinsic bending stress is able to give rise to a curved capillary shape. The key ingredient for the telephone-cord instability is spontaneous polarization. The free-energy minimizer of a spontaneously polarized Sm-A* phase is attained on a planar capillary, characterized by a nonzero curvature. More interestingly, in the Sm-C* phase the combined effect of the molecular tilt and the spontaneous polarization pushes towards a helicoidal capillary shape, with nonzero curvature and torsion.
AB - Telephone-cord patterns have been recently observed in smectic liquid-crystal capillaries. We analyze the effects that may induce them. As long as the capillary keeps its linear shape, we show that a nonzero chiral cholesteric pitch favors the Sm-A*-Sm-C* transition. However, neither the cholesteric pitch nor the presence of an intrinsic bending stress is able to give rise to a curved capillary shape. The key ingredient for the telephone-cord instability is spontaneous polarization. The free-energy minimizer of a spontaneously polarized Sm-A* phase is attained on a planar capillary, characterized by a nonzero curvature. More interestingly, in the Sm-C* phase the combined effect of the molecular tilt and the spontaneous polarization pushes towards a helicoidal capillary shape, with nonzero curvature and torsion.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevE.71.051701
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevE.71.051701
M3 - Article
C2 - 16089545
AN - SCOPUS:26944471986
SN - 1539-3755
VL - 71
JO - Physical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
JF - Physical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
IS - 5
M1 - 051701
ER -