Inderdigitation, double twist, and topological defects in a system of hard lollipops

TL;DR

This study uses Monte Carlo simulations to explore the phase behavior of lollipop-shaped particles, revealing novel interdigitated smectics and a unique isotropic phase with double-twisted clusters, despite not replicating ferroelectric phases.

Contribution

It introduces a new model of lollipop particles for studying complex liquid crystal phases, highlighting the formation of interdigitated smectics and a distinctive isotropic phase.

Findings

Observation of inherently polar interdigitated smectics

Discovery of an isotropic phase with double-twisted clusters

Model does not reproduce ferroelectric and splay nematic phases

Abstract

Using hard particle Monte Carlo simulations, we studied a three-dimensional system consisting of identical, lollipop-like particles. Each lollipop was built of five identical, tangent balls placed along a line and one larger ball at one side of the particle and modeled the RM734 molecule, for which ferroelectric and splay nematics were recently discovered in the experiment. Although our model did not recreate these phases, we observed inherently polar type A and C interdigitated smectics. Moreover, an intriguing, isotropic phase consisting of double-twisted clusters joined by planar defects was formed for a moderate packing fraction and ball diameters ratio.