Boojums and the shapes of domains in monolayer films

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Abstract
Domains in certain Langmuir monolayers support a texture that is the two-dimensional version of the feature known as a boojum. Such a texture has a quantifiable effect on the shape of the domain with which it is associated. The most noticeable consequence is a cusplike feature on the domain boundary. We report the results of an experimental and theoretical investigation of the shape of a domain in a Langmuir monolayer. A further aspect of the investigation is the study of the shape of a “bubble” of gaslike phase in such a monolayer. This structure supports a texture having the form of an inverse boojum. The distortion of a bubble resulting from this texture is also studied. The correspondence between theory and experiment, while not perfect, indicates that a qualitative understanding of the relationship between textures and domain shapes has been achieved.