Hydrodynamics of topological defects in nematic liquid crystals.
We show that backflow, the coupling between the order parameter and the velocity fields, has a significant effect on the motion of defects in nematic liquid crystals. In particular, the defect speed can depend strongly on the topological strength in two dimensions and on the sense of rotation of the director about the core in three dimensions.
Tóth
Géza
G
Department of Physics, Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, 1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP, United Kingdom.
Denniston
Colin
C
Yeomans
J M
JM