Anomalous diffusion of motile colloids dispersed in liquid crystals

We study the superdiffusion of driven colloidal particles dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal. While motion is ballistic in the driving direction, our experiments show that transversal fluctuations become superdiffusive depending on the topological defect pattern around the inclusions. The phenome...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Pagès Casas, Josep M., Ignés i Mullol, Jordi, Sagués i Mestre, Francesc
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Recursos:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/141997
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/141997
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Col·loides
Cristalls líquids nemàtics
Colloids
Nematic liquid crystals
Descrição
Resumo:We study the superdiffusion of driven colloidal particles dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal. While motion is ballistic in the driving direction, our experiments show that transversal fluctuations become superdiffusive depending on the topological defect pattern around the inclusions. The phenomenon can be reproduced with different driving methods and propulsion speeds, while it is strongly dependent on particle size and temperature. We propose a mechanism based on the geometry of the liquid crystal backflow around the inclusions to justify the persistence of thermal fluctuations and to explain the observed temperature and particle size dependence of the superdiffusive behavior based on material and geometrical parameters.