Generalized dynamic domain shape calculation in ferroelectric liquid crystals

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Abstract
We have developed an analytical algorithm analogous to the Wulff construction for calculating the spatial evolution of growing two-dimensinal (2D) domains as a function of time for arbitrary starting shapes. Applying the method to polarization domain growth in surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals, we can derive the full 2D shapes of polarization domains with curved walls from the directional variation of the velocity of planar walls as measured by computer simulations in only 1D. It is shown that the domain shape is determined in the present model by the anisotropic nematic elastic properties of the material. © 1996 The American Physical Society.