Abstract
We show numerically that the interaction potential or force mediated by a liquid crystalline blue phase (BP) between two parallel plates exhibits oscillatory behavior with variation of the interplate distance, when the parallel plates impose strong normal anchoring. Its periodicity is approximately half of the unit-cell dimension of the bulk BP. The interaction arises from the deformation of the confined BP structure around the midplane of the system. The oscillatory interaction can be regarded as a clear manifestation of the BP ordering, because the cholesteric helical alignment adopted by a chiral liquid crystal cannot yield an oscillatory interaction.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 040701 |
Journal | Physical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics |
Volume | 84 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 19 2011 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
- Statistics and Probability
- Condensed Matter Physics