title: Nematic liquid crystals on spherical surfaces: control of defect configurations by temperature, density, and rod shape.
abstract: Recent experiments have shown that defect conformations in spherical nematic liquid crystals can be controlled through variations of temperature, shell thickness, and other environmental parameters. These modifications can be understood as a result of the induced changes in the effective elastic constants of the system. To characterize the relation between defect conformations and elastic anisotropy, we carry out Monte Carlo simulations of a nematic on a spherical surface. As the anisotropy is increased, the defects flow from a tetrahedral arrangement to two coalescing pairs and then to a great circle configuration. We also analyze this flow using a variational method based on harmonic configurations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
authors.forename: Subas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dhakal
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Solis
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olvera de la Cruz
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D003720:Densitometry; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances