title: Texture rules for concentrated filled nematics.
abstract: Defect textures in concentrated fiber-filled polygonal networks in nematic liquid crystals are analyzed using differential geometry and computational modeling based on Landau--de Gennes theory. Micron fibers exhibit singular cores of strength -1/2 for odd polygons and escaped cores of strength -(N-2)/2 for even polygons (N: number of sides), in agreement with experiments while simulations predict singular cores of strength -1/2 in submicron fibers. The computed textures satisfy physical and topological stability rules, and the total charge inside each polygon obeys the Poincaré-Brouwer theorem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec Canada H3A 2B2.
authors.forename: Gaurav
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Alejandro D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Rey