Interaction of the Torque-Induced Elastic Charge and Elastic Dipole with a Wall in a Nematic Liquid Crystal

Abstract

We show that the elastic charge of colloids in a nematic liquid crystal can be generated by the vector of external torque. The torque components play the role of two component charge (dyad) and give rise to the Coulomb-like potential, while their conservation law plays the role similar to that of Gauss' theorem in the electrostatics. The theory is applied to the colloid-surface interaction. A wall with homeotropic or planar director is shown to induce a repulsive 1/r⁴ force on the elastic dipole. The external torque, however, induces the elastic charge in this colloid and triggers switching to the 1/r² repulsion

Keywords:

• colloid-wall interaction
• elastic charge
• nematic emulsion