Twisted Line Liquids

TL;DR

This paper introduces a model of directed lines with cholesteric liquid crystal characteristics, analyzing their elastic properties and implications for the stability of the twist-grain-boundary phase in liquid crystals.

Contribution

It presents a novel model of twisted line liquids that maintains cholesteric elasticity and explores mechanisms for stabilizing the TGB phase.

Findings

Lines do not alter long wavelength elasticity of cholesteric liquid crystals

Presence of lines does not stabilize Landau-Peierls instability

Discussion of alternative stabilization mechanisms for TGB phase

Abstract

We propose a model of directed lines where the average direction has the nature of a cholesteric liquid crystal. This model, for instance, would describe the liquid of screw dislocations in the twist-grain-boundary (TGB) phase of liquid crystals. We show that the presence of lines does not alter the long wavelength elasticity of a cholesteric and, therefore, does not stabilize Landau-Peierls instability of the cholesteric phase. We discuss other possible mechanisms for stabilizing the twist-grain-boundary phase.