arXiv subjects

Fumito Araoka

Publications and source records attributed to Fumito Araoka.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Shear-mode Direct Piezoelectric Response of Ferroelectric Nematic Liquid Crystals

Piezoelectricity (linear coupling between mechanical deformation and electric signal) was originally observed only in solid crystals. Recently, it was discovered that liquid ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals are also piezoelectric. However, so far only their converse piezoelectric signals (applied voltage-induced mechanical deformation) were measured quantitatively. In this work, we have carried out periodic shear-induced electric current and oscillatory rheology measurements on the two archetypic ferroelectric nematic compounds, RM734 and DIO. From temperature, frequency and strain dependent results of the first and second harmonic current signals together with the results from oscillatory rheometry, we were able to quantitatively determine the shear-mode direct piezoelectric coupling constants. These values are similar for both materials and are compared to results of previous converse piezoelectric measurements. We propose a physical mechanism in which the flow alignment of ferroelectric polarization leads to the direct piezoelectric response.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2026

Electrically Tunable Heliconical Smectic Superstructure in Polar Fluids

The ferroelectric nematic (NF) phase and related polar liquid-crystalline phases form a new class of strongly polarized yet fluid soft matter. Well-recognized heliconical ferroelectric phases such as NTBF and SmC_P^H exist, but their electro-optic functionality in smectic systems has been largely unexplored. Here, we report a newly designed single-component achiral molecule exhibiting a hierarchical polar phase sequence: SmAF-NTBF-HEC-SmC_P^H. The key feature of the SmC_P^H phase is its ability to form a stable macroscopic orientation without any alignment layers and to enable continuous, reversible pitch modulation over a wide spectral range at ultralow electric fields, approximately one-third of those required for conventional heliconical nematics. The system exhibits characteristic electro-optic properties in the sub-kilohertz range, differentiating it from heliconical materials controlled by dielectric-elastic balance at higher frequencies. In addition, the SmC_P^H phase's polar heliconical smectic structure facilitates enhanced second-harmonic generation via favorable phase matching, thereby establishing a simple and robust platform for low-voltage photonic applications.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2026

Direct measurement of osmotic pressure and interparticle interactions in colloidal dispersions

Colloidal dispersions are widely found in systems ranging from natural environments to industrial materials. Their macroscopic properties such as viscosity and light scattering depend on their dispersibility, which is characterized by interparticle interactions. Osmotic pressure is induced in a solution with a concentration gradient, in which dispersity is one of the major factors governing the behavior of solutes. Thus, examining the relationship between the interparticle interactions and osmotic pressure may reveal colloidal dispersive properties. Although measuring the osmotic pressure is useful to understand dispersion systems, osmotic pressure is usually extremely low, and only limited experimental methods are available. In this study, we demonstrate that both osmotic pressure and interparticle interactions can be measured within the same experimental system, an optical tweezer system. The directly measured pressure is consistent with both the Brownian dynamics simulation and theoretical results based on the effective hard-sphere model, both of which were calculated using the interparticle interactions directly measured in the experiment. This agreement demonstrates the applicability of the proposed technique for investigating dispersive properties based on particle-level interactions. The proposed technique enables bottom-up design of colloidal materials through particle-level modifications.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Three-Dimensional Hieratical Twists in Polar Fluids: Chirality Regulation by Ultra-Low Electric Field

Recently discovered helical polar fluid adopts a spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking (CSB) driven by polarization escape and conformational chirality. Ferroelectric nematic and smectic phases are intrinsically chiral in the ground state and can be stabilized in an extrinsic twisted configuration through surface anchoring. Herein, we introduce extrinsic CSB as a novel technique in chiral engineering. To demonstrate this concept, we constructed the extrinsic structure of a helielectric conical mesophase (HEC)-three-dimensional chiral system. Considering the challenges of controlling chirality at the macroscopic scale owing to magnetic fields, light, and fluid vortex motion, the proposed three-dimensional chiral system enables chirality (twist) modulation through an ultralow electric field, thereby controlling unique diffraction pattern and circular polarized light-switching capabilities.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Spontaneous Twist of Ferroelectric Smectic Blocks in Polar Fluids

In soft matter, the polar orientational order of molecules can facilitate the coexistence of structural chirality and ferroelectricity. The ferroelectric nematic (NF) state, exhibited by achiral calamitic molecules with large dipole moments, serves as an ideal model for the emergence of spontaneous structural chirality. This chiral ground state arises from a left- or right-handed twist of polarization due to depolarization effects. In contrast, the ferroelectric smectic state, characterized by a polar lamellar structure with lower symmetry, experiences significantly higher energy associated with layer-twisting deformations and the formation of domain walls, thus avoiding a continuously twisted layered structure. In this study, we develop two types of achiral molecules (BOE-NO2 and DIOLT) that possess different molecular structure but exhibit a NF-ferroelectric smectic phase sequence. We demonstrate that the chiral ground state of NF is inherited in the ferroelectric smectic phases of BOE-NO2, which features larger dipole moments and a steric hindrance moiety, thereby triggering the formation of the twisted polar smectic blocks.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Giant Electro-Viscous Effects in Polar Fluids with Paraelectric-Modulated Antiferroelectric-Ferroelectric Phase Sequence

The recently discovered ferroelectric nematic liquid-crystal material DIO exhibits an antiferroelectric (AF) phase, characterized by a sinusoidally modulated structure between the paraelectric (P) and ferroelectric (F) nematic phases. Although these sinusoidal modulated structures associated with the P-AF-F phase sequence is commonly observed in solid ferroelectrics, their presence in soft matter systems is scarce. This study is aimed at examining the macroscopic properties of DIO, identifying unique rheological properties, such as switching between shear thinning and shear thickening behaviors at certain shear rate in the ferroelectric nematic phase. Additionally, a significant electroviscous effect is observed, with the viscosity increasing by 70 times under an ultra-low electric field of 0.15 V um-1 at the AF-F transition.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Tunable Intracavity Coherent Up-conversion with Giant Nonlinearity in a Polar Fluidic Medium

We demonstrate a novel microcavity-based photon up-conversion using second harmonic generation (SHG) from a polar nematic fluid media doped with a laser dye. The present idea is based on coherent light generation via simultaneous frequency doubling and stimulated emission (lasing) inside a microcavity. The polar nematic fluid equips very high even-order optical nonlinearity due to the polar symmetry and large dipole moment along the molecular long axis. At the same time, its inherent fluidic nature allows us to easily functionalize the media just by doping, in the present case, with an emissive laser dye. Our demonstrated system exhibits a giant nonlinear optical response to input light, while enabling spectral narrowing and multiple-signal output of up-converted light, that is not attainable though the simple SH-conversion of input light. Furthermore, susceptibility of the liquid crystal offers dynamic modulation capabilities under external stimulus, such as signal switching with electric field application or wavelength tuning through temperature variation. Such a brand-new type of simple coherent flexible up-conversion system must be promising as a new principle for easy-accessible and down-scalable wavelength conversion devices.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Emergent Ferroelectric Nematic and Heliconical Ferroelectric Nematic States in an Achiral "Straight" Polar Rod Mesogen

Ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals (NFLCs) are distinguished by their remarkable polarization characteristics and diverse physical phenomena, sparking significant interest and excitement within the scientific community. To date, over 150 NFLC molecules have been developed; however, there are no reports regarding straight linear polar molecules with a parallel alignment of the permanent dipole moment and the molecular axis. The straight polar mesogen nBOE exhibited an enantiotropic NF phase with a wide temperature window (up to 100 K) despite having a longer alkyl chain (up to n = 6) than the critical alkyl chain length of conventional models. Interestingly, nBOE with a medium length alkyl chain displayed an exotic phase sequence of NF-HCNF-SmCF during the elimination of positional displacement among adjacent molecules. Furthermore, we demonstrate the reflective color modulation of the HCNFLC over the entire VIS-NIR spectral regime by ultralow E-field (up to 0.14 V um^-1).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Significant impact of light-matter strong coupling on chiral nonlinear optical effect

Light-matter strong coupling (LMSC) is intriguing state in which light and matter are coherently hybridized inside cavity. It has been gaining widespread recognition as an excellent way for controlling material properties without any chemical modification. Here we show the LMSC is a powerful state to manipulate and improve a chiral nonlinear optical (NLO) effect through the investigation of second harmonic generation circular dichroism. At the upper polaritonic band in LMSC, in addition to an enhancement of SHG intensity by more than one order of magnitude, the responsivity to the handedness of circular polarized light is largely modified, where sign inversion and increase of dissymmetric factor is achieved. Quarter wave plate rotation analysis reveals that the LMSC clearly influence the coefficients associated with chirality in NLO process and it also contributes to the enhancement of nonlinear magnetic dipole interactions. This study demonstrates that LMSC serves as a novel platform for control of chiral optoelectronics and magneto-optics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Magneto-chiral nonlinear optical effect with large anisotropic response in two-dimensional halide perovskite

The chiral organic-inorganic halide perovskites (OIHPs) are vital candidates for superior nonlinear optical (NLO) effects associated with circularly polarized (CP) light. NLO in chiral materials often couples with magnetic dipole (MD) transition, as well as the conventional electric dipole (ED) transition. However, the importance of MD in NLO process of chiral OIHPs has not yet been well recognized. Here, the analysis of second harmonic generation circular dichroism (SHG-CD) provides the direct evidence that the MD contribution leads to a large anisotropic response to CP lights in chiral OIHPs, (R-/S-MBACl)2PbI4. The thin films exhibit great sensitivity to CP lights over a wide wavelength range, and the g-value reaches up to 1.57 at the wavelength where the contribution of MD is maximized. Furthermore, it is also effective as CP light generator, outputting CP-SHG with maximum g-factor of 1.76 upon the stimulation of linearly polarized light. This study deepens the understanding of the magneto-optical NLO processes in chiral systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Nanostructural polymorphism in the low-birefringence chiral phase of an achiral bent-shaped dimer

Polymorphism, the phenomenon that a species can exist in many discrete forms, is common in nature, such as hair colors in an animal species, flower colors in a tree species, and blood types in humans, etc. In materials science, it refers to a solid that can exist in multiple forms with different crystalline structures. In the liquid crystals field, however, polymorphism is hard to find because a discontinuous structural variation is basically impossible because of their fluid or partially fluid nature. Herein we show that the B4 and DC phases that for many years have been classified as distinctive phases are connected, in terms of their nano-architectures, based on the study of a single compound, a flexible bent-shaped dimer. The surrounding solvent is the key to assisting the dimeric molecules in morphing and adopting different supramolecular structures at the mesoscale. Furthermore, we accidentally find a novel nanotube-like structure that has not yet been reported in view of the B4/DC phases. Together with the known sponge (DC) and the helical filament (B4) structures, they are just some of the manifestations of the polymorphism in a class of low-birefringence, chiral phase from achiral liquid crystals.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2022

Nano-Clustering Mediates Phase Transitions in a Diastereomerically-Stabilized Ferroelectric Nematic System

During the last half-decade, a new class of ferroic-fluid, ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals (NFLCs), creates a noise owing to its exceptional properties such as a colossal polarization, high electro-optic activity plus high fluidity. Regardless of recent huge efforts on design and development of new NFLC molecules based on molecular parameters, the control of NF phase transitions and the stabilization of NF phase are still challenging. Here we discuss the impact of mixing of DIO diastereomer [transDIO (1) and cisDIO (2)] to the NF phase transition, in terms of the smectic cybotactic cluster formation examined by X-ray diffraction. Interestingly, the result suggests that smooth exchange of NFLC 1 by non-LC 2 both with similar dipole and molecular backbone plays a role in the alteration of the NF phase transition.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Current-in-plane magnetoresistance in chiral-molecule/ferromagnetic metal bilayer due to thermally induced spin polarization

We report chirality-induced current-in-plane magnetoresistance (CIP-MR) in chiral molecule/ferromagnetic metal bilayer at room temperature. The previously reported chiralityinduced current-perpendicular-to-plane magnetoresistance (CPP-MR) originates from the chiral induced spin-selectivity (CISS) effect that needs charge-current passing through the molecule. In contrast, the observed CIP-MR in the present study requires no bias charge current through the molecule. The temperature dependence of CIP-MR suggests thermally induced spin-polarization in the chiral molecules is the key for the observed MR.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Chirality-induced effective magnetic field in a phthalocyanine molecule

Chirality in organic molecules has attracted considerable attention in the fields of chemistry, biology, and spintronics. This paper reports on perpendicular magnetization hysteresis loops of a multilayer consisting of ultrathin Fe (001), chiral phthalocyanine molecule ((P)- or (M)-PbPc-DTBPh), and MgO (001). We find a chirality-dependent shift of the hysteresis loop. Unlike the previously reported bias current induced phenomena, the result shows a chirality-induced effective magnetic field in the phthalocyanine molecule in the absence of a bias current in the system. This study opens up a new direction in the emerging field of chiral molecular spintronics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Kinetics of motile solitons in fluid nematics

Solitary waves, dubbed "solitons", are special types of waves that propagate for an infinite distance under ideal conditions. These waves are ubiquitously found in nature such as typhoon or neuron signals. Yet, their artificial generation and the control of their propagation remain outstanding challenges in materials science owing to an insufficient understanding of the experimental conditions and theoretical aspects. Herein, a generic strategy for forming particle-like solitons and controlling their kinetics in nematic fluid media is reported. The key to the realisation of the generation of solitons and the control of their kinetics is the coupling between the fluid elasticity and the background flow flux, as evidenced by experimental observations and theoretical approaches. The findings of this study enable the exploration of solitons in a wide range of materials and have technological ramifications for the lossless transport of energy or structures.

cond-mat.soft↗