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arXiv · 2405.03189

Coarsening in Bent-core Liquid Crystals: Intermediate Splay Bend State en route to the Twist Bend Phase

Nishant Birdi·Nigel B. Wilding·Sanjay Puri·Varsha Banerjee
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Abstract

We use molecular dynamics simulations to study coarsening dynamics in achiral banana-shaped bent-core liquid crystals following a quench from the high concentration polar smectic (SmX) phase to lower concentrations that favor the exotic twist-bend (TB) phase. Our novel result is the identification of an intermediate splay-bend state emerging prior to the eventual TB phase. The latter coarsens via the annihilation of {\it beta lines} which are analogous to string defects in nematic liquid crystals. Our findings are relevant for a large class of chiral systems assembled from achiral entities.

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Nishant Birdi, Nigel B. Wilding, Sanjay Puri, Varsha Banerjee. 2024-05-06. Coarsening in Bent-core Liquid Crystals: Intermediate Splay Bend State en route to the Twist Bend Phase. https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.03189

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