Thermoundulations versus convection instability in cholesteric liquid crystals: A novel type of pattern competition

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Abstract
We show that in cholesteric liquid crystals subject to a vertical external temperature gradient a new type of pattern competition exists: Either a dynamic instability (convection) as in nonequilibrium systems or a static instability (thermoundulations) as in constrained pattern-forming equilibrium systems can arise first—depending on the pitch—as the temperature gradient is increased. Numerical estimates are given for both instabilities: Convection occurs first for large pitches and thermoundulations dominate for small pitches.