Lyotropic mesophases as defects in binary mixtures

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Abstract
The classification of defects in ordered media is applied to the case of binary mixtures. Stable defects must be surfaces, and, in that case, interfaces. For lyotropic systems, a negative surface energy leads to a maximization of the interface area. One thus obtains, with increasing surfactant concentration, micelles, and then liquid crystal phases which must be considered as ordered defect phases, similar to vortex lattices in type II superconductors