Controlled nucleation of point defects on a disclination line near a free surface during smectic-A-to-nematic directional melting.
A disclination line populated with point defects that break the translational symmetry forms near a free nematic (N) interface in a confined geometry. The disclination line is, however, absent in the smectic-A phase (SmA). We use this fact to control the formation of point defect distributions on a disclination line by directional melting of the SmA phase in a temperature gradient. A threshold velocity ( v(th)) exists below which a defect-free disclination line is formed. The frequency of nucleation of point defects increases steadily for v > v(th) and exhibits a remarkable regularity. We derive an empirical scaling for v(th) in terms of the experimental tuning parameters. We propose a simple model that allows to understand the formation of the point defects.
Ignés-Mullol
J
J
Laboratoire de Physique, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon, Cedex 07, France. jignes@qf.ub.es
Scurtu
L
L
Oswald
P
P