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Article Dans Une Revue Physical Review Letters Année : 2005

Dynamics of Nematic Liquid Crystal Disclinations: The Role of the Backflow

Résumé

We measure the electric-field-driven annihilation of nematic disclination pairs with strength ±1/2 in the 4−cyano−4′−n-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) liquid crystal. The use of a very weak azimuthal anchoring ensures a two-dimensional director field. The relaxation is governed by the formation of a π wall connecting the two opposite charge defects. The +1/2 disclinations move almost twice as fast as the −1/2 disclinations. The simple used geometry allows a quantitative comparison with numerical studies based on the hydrodynamics of the tensorial order parameter. The simulations show that in the π wall regime the symmetry breaking is due to the backflow and not to the elastic anisotropy.
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hal-01207474 , version 1 (30-09-2015)

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Christophe Blanc, D. Svenšek, S. Žumer, Maurizio Nobili. Dynamics of Nematic Liquid Crystal Disclinations: The Role of the Backflow. Physical Review Letters, 2005, 95 (9), pp.097802. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.097802⟩. ⟨hal-01207474⟩
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