Collective dynamics and conformal ordering in electrophoretically driven nematic colloids

We present a theoretical framework to understand the collective dynamics of an ensemble of electrophoret-ically driven colloidal particles that are forced to assemble around a single topological defect in a nematicliquid crystal by an alternating current electric field. Our generic model combines ph...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Straube, Arthur V., Pagès Casas, Josep M., Tierno, Pietro, Ignés i Mullol, Jordi, Sagués i Mestre, Francesc
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/143324
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/143324
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Col·loides
Electroforesi
Colloids
Electrophoresis
Descripción
Sumario:We present a theoretical framework to understand the collective dynamics of an ensemble of electrophoret-ically driven colloidal particles that are forced to assemble around a single topological defect in a nematicliquid crystal by an alternating current electric field. Our generic model combines phoretic propulsion withelectrostatic interactions and liquid-crystal-mediated hydrodynamics, which are effectively cast into a long-rangeinterparticle repulsion, while nematic elasticity plays a subdominant role. Simulations based on this modelfully capture the collective organization process observed in the experiments and other striking effects as theemergence of conformal ordering and a nearly frequency-independent repulsive interaction above 10 Hz. Ourresults demonstrate the importance of hydrodynamic interactions on the assembly of driven microscale matter inanisotropic media.