Berlin 2015 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 5: Colloids and Complex Liquids I (joint session CPP/ BP/ DY)

DY 5.1: Vortrag

Montag, 16. März 2015, 09:30–09:45, C 130

Disclination lines at homogeneous and heterogeneous colloids immersed in a chiral liquid crystal — •Sergej Schlotthauer¹, Michael Melle¹, Carol K. Hall², Enrique Diaz-Herrera³, and Martin Scheon^1,2 — ¹Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany — ²North Carolina State University, Raleigh (NC), USA — ³Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Iztapalapa , Mexico

We perform Monte Carlo simulations in the isothermal-isobaric ensemble to study defect topologies formed in a cholesteric liquid crystal due to the presence of a spherical colloidal particle. Topological defects arise because of the competition between anchoring at the colloidal surface and the local director. We consider homogeneous colloids with either local homeotropic or planar anchoring to validate our model by comparison with earlier lattice Boltzmann studies. The presence of a Janus colloid in a choleteric host fluid reveals a rich variety of defect structures. Using the Frank free energy we analyze these defects quantitatively indicating a preferred orientation of the Janus colloid relative to the cholesteric helix.