Topological defects in a nematic filled with colloid particles

Abstract
We theoretically investigate topological constraints and the defect structure around a spherical body immersed in a uniform nematic liquid crystal. Depending on the strength of anchoring on the particle surface, there are three possibilities. At rigid anchoring WR/K >> 1, the inner surface constraint forces a disclination ring of a radius at approximately 1.2*R, with R the particle size. At a lower, critical value W* the disclination rings contracts to the surface and, for small anchoring, WR/K << 1, the director distribution is regular, defect-free.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: