Flexoelectric blue phases

TL;DR

This paper investigates flexoelectric-induced liquid crystal phases with two-dimensional splay and bend distortions, analyzing their properties, stability, and similarities to cholesteric blue phases through theoretical modeling.

Contribution

It introduces a mean field theoretical framework to describe and analyze flexoelectric blue phases, highlighting their unique features and relation to cholesteric blue phases.

Findings

Flexoelectric blue phases exhibit regions of double splayed order separated by topological defects.

A phase diagram for these phases is constructed using analytic and numerical methods.

The study reveals both similarities and differences between flexoelectric and cholesteric blue phases.

Abstract

We describe the occurence and properties of liquid crystal phases showing two dimensional splay and bend distortions which are stabilised by flexoelectric interactions. These phases are characterised by regions of locally double splayed order separated by topological defects and are thus highly analogous to the blue phases of cholesteric liquid crystals. We present a mean field analysis based upon the Landau--de Gennes Q-tensor theory and construct a phase diagram for flexoelectric structures using analytic and numerical results. We stress the similarities and discrepancies between the cholesteric and flexoelectric cases.