Lagrange Instability of Geodesics in Curved Double Twisted Liquid Crystals

TL;DR

This paper investigates the stability of geodesics in curved double twisted liquid crystals using a non-Riemannian geometric approach, revealing how the pitch and curvature influence stability and connecting to biological applications.

Contribution

It introduces a non-Riemannian geometric framework to analyze geodesic stability in twisted liquid crystals, unifying previous analyses and exploring implications for biological structures.

Findings

Stability depends on the sign of sectional curvature.

Geodesic equations are solved for variable pitch helices.

The approach links liquid crystal stability to biological systems.

Abstract

It is shown that curved and flat helical double twisted liquid crystal (DTLC) in blue phase, can be unstable (stable) depending of the sign, negative (positive) of sectional curvature, depending on the pitch of the helix of the nematic crystal. In both cases Cartan torsion is presented. It is also shown that the instability or stability depends on the value of the pitch of the helix in nematic crystals. Frank energy stability A similar result using the method of Frank energy stability in the twist of cholesteric liquid crystal was given by Kiselev and Sluckin [PRE 71(2005)], where the free twist number determines the equilibrium value of the cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC) pitch of the helix. As a final example we solve the geodesic equations in twisted nematics with variable pitch helix and non-constant torsion. This non-Riemannian geometrical approach, also seems to unify two recent analysis of cylindrical columns given by Santangelo et al [PRL 99,(2007)] and the curved crystal endowed with torsion, given by Vitelli et al [Proc Nat Acad Sci (2006)]. Stability of toroidal curved surfaces were also previously considered by Bowick et al [PRE 69,(2004)], as an example of curvature-induced defect. Investigation of the Lagrangean instability may be useful in the investigation of HIV viruses and proteins.