These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Self-assembly of skyrmion-dressed chiral nematic colloids with tangential anchoring.
    Author: Pandey MB, Porenta T, Brewer J, Burkart A, Copar S, Zumer S, Smalyukh II.
    Journal: Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys; 2014 Jun; 89(6):060502. PubMed ID: 25019708.
    Abstract:
    We describe dipolar nematic colloids comprising mutually bound solid microspheres, three-dimensional skyrmions, and point defects in a molecular alignment field of chiral nematic liquid crystals. Nonlinear optical imaging and numerical modeling based on minimization of Landau-de Gennes free energy reveal that the particle-induced skyrmions resemble torons and hopfions, while matching surface boundary conditions at the interfaces of liquid crystal and colloidal spheres. Laser tweezers and videomicroscopy reveal that the skyrmion-colloidal hybrids exhibit purely repulsive elastic pair interactions in the case of parallel dipoles and an unexpected reversal of interaction forces from repulsive to attractive as the center-to-center distance decreases for antiparallel dipoles. The ensuing elastic self-assembly gives rise to colloidal chains of antiparallel dipoles with particles entangled by skyrmions.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]