1996/11/01 by O. V. Kuksenok, R. W. Ruhwandl, Sergij V. Shiyanovskii +1 · 220 citations
Materials Science · Chemistry · Computer Science · #Liquid Crystal Research Advancements #Surfactants and Colloidal Systems #Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation #Disclination #Anchoring #Homeotropic alignment #Liquid crystal #Physics #RADIUS #Condensed matter physics #Particle (ecology) #Field (mathematics) #Colloid #Core (optical fiber) #Optics #Chemistry #Physical chemistry
paper · doi:10.1103/physreve.54.5198
published in Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics 54(5), 5198-5203 (American Physical Society)
openalex publication_date 1996/11/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
We analyze the director field around a spherical colloid particle with radial (homeotropic) anchoring on its surface. Depending on the relative strength of anchoring W, controlled by the parameter WR/K with K the Frank constant and R the particle radius, the director distribution may possess a singular ring of a -1/2 disclination in the equatorial plane. The equilibrium radius of this ring, at rigid radial anchoring, is a*\ensuremath\approxeq1.25R and only weakly depends on the disclination core energy. At small anchoring the director field is regular and weakly disturbed by the particle, there is a characteristic crossover W* between the two regimes. We obtain the analytical expression for n( r), which decays as r^\mathrm\ensuremath-3sin2\ensuremathθ away from the particle, and compare it with the exact numerical solution in the highly distorted nonlinear regime. \textcopyright 1996 The American Physical Society.