Topology of orientational defects in confined smectic liquid crystals

We propose a general formalism to characterize orientational frustration of smectic liquid crystals in confinement by interpreting the emerging networks of grain boundaries as objects with a topological charge. In a formal idealization, this charge is distributed in pointlike units of quarter-intege...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Monderkamp, PA, Wittmann, R, Cortes, LBG, Aarts, DGAL, Smallenburg, F, Löwen, H
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2021