Analysis of a model for bent-core liquid crystals columnar phases

Tiziana Giorgi; Feras Yousef

doi:10.3934/dcdsb.2015.20.2001

Article Contents

2015, Volume 20, Issue 7: 2001-2026. Doi: 10.3934/dcdsb.2015.20.2001

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Analysis of a model for bent-core liquid crystals columnar phases

Tiziana Giorgi^1, and
Feras Yousef^1,

1.
Department of Mathematical Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001

Received: March 31, 2014

Revised: February 28, 2015

Published: August 2015

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Abstract

We consider a model originally introduced to study layer-undulated structures in bent-core molecule liquid crystals. We first prove existence of minimizers, then analyze a simplified version used to study how in columnar phases the width of the column affects the type of switching, which occurs under an applied electric field. We show via $\Gamma$-convergence that as the width of the column tends to infinity, rotation around the tilt cone is favored, provided the coefficient of the coupling term, between the polar parameter, the nematic parameter, and the layer normal is large.

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Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary: 76A15; Secondary: 49J99.

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