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arXiv · 2207.03421

Paradoxes for Chromonic Liquid Crystal Droplets

Silvia Paparini·Epifanio G. Virga
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Abstract

Chromonic liquid crystals constitute a novel lyotropic phase, whose elastic properties have so far been modeled within the classical Oseen-Frank theory, provided that the twist constant is assumed to be considerably smaller than the saddle-splay constant, in violation of one Ericksen inequality. This paper shows that paradoxical consequences follow from such a violation for droplets of these materials surrounded by an isotropic fluid. For example, tactoids with a degenerate planar anchoring simply disintegrate indefinitely in myriads of smaller ones.

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Silvia Paparini, Epifanio G. Virga. 2022-07-07. Paradoxes for Chromonic Liquid Crystal Droplets. https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.03421

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