arXiv subjects

O. M. Tovkach

Publications and source records attributed to O. M. Tovkach.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2016

Electro-osmosis in nematic liquid crystals

We derive a mathematical model of a nematic electrolyte based on a variational formulation of nematodynamics. Extending our previous work, we consider a general setup which incorporates dielectric anisotropy of the liquid-crystalline matrix and the full set of nematic viscosities. We verify the model by comparing its predictions to the results of the experiments on the substrate-controlled liquid-crystal-enabled electrokinetics. In the experiments a nematic liquid crystal confined to a thin planar cell with surface-patterned anchoring conditions exhibit electro-osmotic flows along the "guiding rails" imposed by the spatially varying director.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2014

Surface induced structures in nematic liquid crystal colloids

We predict theoretically the existence of a class of colloidal structures in nematic liquid crystal (NLC) cells, which are induced by surface patterns on the plates of the cell (like cells with UV-irradiated polyimide surfaces using micron size masks). These bulk structures arise from non-zero boundary conditions for the director distortions at the confining surfaces. In particular, we demonstrate that quadrupole spherical particles (like spheres with boojums or Saturn-ring director configurations) form a square lattice inside a planar NLC cell, which has checkerboard patterns on both its plates.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2013

Elastic monopoles and external torques in nematic liquid crystal colloids

Up to now it is commonly believed that a colloidal particle suspended in a nematic liquid crystal never produces elastic monopoles because this violates the mechanical equilibrium condition. And the only way to obtain deformations of director field falling off with distance as r^{-1} is to exert an external torque Γ_{ext} on the colloid \cite{de_Gennes}. In this paper we demonstrate that this statement is not quite correct and elastic monopoles, as well as dipoles and quadrupoles, can be induced without any external influence just by the particle itself. A behavior of a spherical colloidal particle with asymmetric anchoring strength distribution is considered theoretically. It is demonstrated that such a particle when suspended in a nematic host can produce director deformations decreasing as $r^{-1}$, i.e. elastic monopoles, by itself without any external influence.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2013

Elastic octopoles and colloidal structures in nematic liquid crystals

We propose a simple theoretical model which explains a formation of dipolar 2D and 3D colloidal structures in nematic liquid crystal. Colloidal particles are treated as effective hard spheres interacting via their elastic dipole, quadrupole and octopole moments. It is shown that octopole moment plays an important role in the formation of 2D and 3D nematic colloidal crystals. We generalize this assumption on the case of the external electric field and theoretically explain a giant electrostriction effect in 3D crystals observed recently [A. Nych et al., Nature Communications \textbf{4}, 1489 (2013)].

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2011

Theory of elastic interaction between colloidal particles in the nematic cell in the presence of the external electric or magnetic field

The Green function method developed in Ref.[S. B. Chernyshuk and B. I. Lev, Phys. Rev. E \textbf{81}, 041707 (2010)] is used to describe elastic interactions between axially symmetric colloidal particles in the nematic cell in the presence of the external electric or magnetic field. General formulas for dipole-dipole, dipole-quadrupole and quadrupole-quadrupole interactions in the homeotropic and planar nematic cells with parallel and perpendicular field orientations are obtained. A set of new results has been predicted: 1) \textit{Deconfinement effect} for dipole particles in the homeotropic nematic cell with negative dielectric anisotropy $Δε<0$ and perpendicular to the cell electric field, when electric field is approaching it's Frederiks threshold value $E\Rightarrow E_{c}$. This means cancellation of the confinement effect found in Ref. [M.Vilfan et al. Phys.Rev.Lett. {\bf 101}, 237801, (2008)] for dipole particles near the Frederiks transition while it remains for quadrupole particles. 2) New effect of \textit{attraction and stabilization} of the particles along the electric field parallel to the cell planes in the homeotropic nematic cell with $Δε<0$ . The minimun distance between two particles depends on the strength of the field and can be ordinary for . 3) Attraction and repulsion zones for all elastic interactions are changed dramatically under the action of the external field.

cond-mat.soft↗