Observation of stochastic resonance in a liquid-crystal light valve with optical feedback induced by colored noise in the driving voltage.

Stochastic resonance is a noise phenomenon that benefits applications such as pattern formation, neural systems, microelectromechanical systems, and image processing. This study experimentally clarifies that the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules was switched between two stable positions when stochastic resonance was induced by colored noises in a liquid crystal light valve with optical feedback. Ornstein-Uhlenbeck and dichotomous noises were used for colored noise, and the noise was applied to the drive voltage of the liquid crystal light valve.

Negative viscosity of liquid crystals in the presence of turbulence: Conductivity dependence, phase diagram, and self-oscillation.

Recently, we reported the discovery of enormous negative viscosity of a nematic liquid crystal in the presence of turbulence induced by ac electric fields, which enabled us to observe unique phenomena related to the negative viscosity, such as spontaneous shear flow, hysteresis in flow curves, and self-oscillation [Orihara et al., Phys. Rev.

Three-dimensional observation of Brownian particles under steady shear flow by stereo microscopy.

Three-dimensional observation of Brownian particles under shear flow is performed with a stereo microscope to examine the nature of the Brownian motion that occurs in the presence of shear flow. From the three-dimensional trajectories of the particles, we clearly demonstrate the occurrence of anomalous diffusion in the flow direction and the coupling of the displacements in the flow and velocity gradient directions. Furthermore, we experimentally obtain the probability distribution function and current density, which also exhibit characteristic features, and compare the obtained results with theoretical results derived using the Fokker-Planck equation.

Negative viscosity of a liquid crystal in the presence of turbulence.

We report on the discovery of enormous negative viscosity in a nematic liquid crystal in the presence of turbulence induced by electric fields. As the negative viscosity in this system is so large, we are able to observe several phenomena originating from it. For example, we observe a spontaneous shear flow that rotates the upper disk of a rheometer, as well as the reversal of the rotational direction upon applying an external torque in the opposite direction.

Tunable two-dimensional polarization grating using a self-organized micropixelated liquid crystal structure.

Utilization of the self-organizing nature of soft materials is promising for fabricating micro- and nano-structures, which can be applied for optics. Because of the high birefringence, liquid crystals are especially suitable for optoelectronic applications such as beam steering and polarization conversion. On the other hand, most self-organized patterns in liquid crystals are one-dimensional and there are only a few examples of two dimensional systems.

Polymer-Stabilized Micropixelated Liquid Crystals with Tunable Optical Properties Fabricated by Double Templating.

Self-organized nano- and microstructures of soft materials are attracting considerable attention because most of them are stimuli-responsive due to their soft nature. In this regard, topological defects in liquid crystals (LCs) are promising not only for self-assembling colloids and molecules but also for electro-optical applications such as optical vortex generation. However, there are currently few bottom-up methods for patterning a large number of defects periodically over a large area.

Direct observation of coupling between orientation and flow fluctuations in a nematic liquid crystal at equilibrium.

To demonstrate coupling between orientation and flow fluctuations in a nematic liquid crystal at equilibrium, we simultaneously observe the intensity change due to director fluctuations under a polarizing microscope and the Brownian motion of a fluorescent particle trapped weakly by optical tweezers. The calculated cross-correlation function of the particle position and the spatial gradient of the intensity is nonzero, clearly indicating the existence of coupling.

Large-scale self-organization of reconfigurable topological defect networks in nematic liquid crystals.

Topological defects in nematic liquid crystals are ubiquitous. The defects are important in understanding the fundamental properties of the systems, as well as in practical applications, such as colloidal self-assembly, optical vortex generation and templates for molecular self-assembly. Usually, spatially and temporally stable defects require geometrical frustration imposed by surfaces; otherwise, the system relaxes because of the high cost of the elastic energy.

Electric-field-induced flow-aligning state in a nematic liquid crystal.

The response of shear stress to a weak ac electric field as a probe is measured in a nematic liquid crystal under shear flow and dc electric fields. Two states with different responses are clearly observed when the dc electric field is changed at a constant shear rate: the flow aligning and non-flow aligning states. The director lies in the shear plane in the flow aligning state and out of the plane in the non-flow aligning state.

Direct visualization of spatiotemporal structure of self-assembled colloidal particles in electrohydrodynamic flow of a nematic liquid crystal.

Characterization of spatiotemporal dynamics is of vital importance to soft matter systems far from equilibrium. Using a confocal laser scanning microscopy, we directly reveal three-dimensional motion of surface-modified particles in the electrohydrodynamic convection of a nematic liquid crystal. Particularly, visualizing a caterpillar-like motion of a self-assembled colloidal chain demonstrates the mechanism of the persistent transport enabled by the elastic, electric, and hydrodynamic contributions.

Electrically induced deformation in chiral smectic elastomers with different domain structures.

Electrical actuation is investigated in two kinds of chiral smectic liquid-crystal elastomers (LCEs) with different domain structures LCE1 and LCE2: The latter is better than the former in orientational order. Tracking fluorescent beads dispersed on the samples enables us to measure the two-dimensional strain tensors in ferroelectric elastomer films. It turns out that the electric-field-induced strain is polarity dependent and the type of molecular orientation responsible for the strain is specified.

Stepwise heat-capacity change at an orientation transition in liquid crystals.

During a phase transition in a bulk material, heat is exchanged with matter to balance the changes in the internal energy and the entropy of the system. Here we report on the thermal detection of a surface-mediated anchoring transition, a spontaneous and discontinuous orientation change between planar (P) and homeotropic (H) alignments within a single nematic phase by changing temperature. In this case a stepwise change in the heat flow, similar to a glass transition, is observed by means of high-resolution differential scanning calorimetry.

Nonequilibrium steady-state response of a nematic liquid crystal under simple shear flow and electric fields.

The effect of a dc electric field on the response of a nematic liquid crystal under shear flow has been investigated by measuring the shear stress response to an ac electric field used as a probe. It was found that both the first- and second-order responses do not vanish at high frequencies, but have constant nonzero values. The experimental results are in good agreement with calculations based on the Ericksen-Leslie theory.

Colloidal caterpillars for cargo transportation.

Tunable transport of tiny objects in fluid systems is demanding in diverse fields of science such as drug delivery, active matter far from equilibrium, and lab-on-a-chip applications. Here, we report the directed motion of colloidal particles and self-assembled colloidal chains in a nematic liquid crystal matrix using electrohydrodynamic convection (EHC) rolls. The asymmetric distortion of the molecular orientation around the particles results - for single particles - in a hopping motion from one EHC roll to the next and - for colloidal chains - in a caterpillar-like motion in the direction perpendicular to the roll axes.

Persistence of Brownian motion in a shear flow.

The persistence of a Brownian particle in a shear flow is investigated. The persistence probability P(t), which is the probability that the particle does not return to its initial position up to time t, is known to obey a power law P(t)∝t(-θ). Since the displacement of a particle along the flow direction due to convection is much larger than that due to Brownian motion, we define an alternative displacement in which the convection effect is removed.

Dynamical properties of nematic liquid crystals subjected to shear flow and magnetic fields: tumbling instability and nonequilibrium fluctuations.

We investigate the dynamical properties of monodomain nematic liquid crystals under shear flow and magnetic fields on the basis of the Ericksen-Leslie theory. Stable and unstable states appear depending on the magnetic field and the shear rate. The trajectory of the unstable state shows tumbling motion.

Shear banding in an F-actin solution.

We report herein the first evidence that an F-actin solution shows shear banding, which is characterized by the spontaneous separation of homogeneous shear flow into two macroscopic domains of different definite shear rates. The constant shear stress observed in the F-actin solution is explained by the banded flow with volume fractions that obey the lever rule. Nonhomogenous reversible flows were observed in the F-actin solution with respect to upward and downward changes in the shear rate.

Influence of shear flow on the linear response of a nematic liquid crystal to external electric fields.

We have investigated the linear response of shear stress to ac electric fields under shear flow in a nematic liquid crystal. The experimental results were compared with the theoretical results derived from the Ericksen-Leslie theory. Although close agreement was obtained at low shear rates, discrepancies were observed at high shear rates.

Brownian motion in shear flow: direct observation of anomalous diffusion.

Brownian motion in a simple shear flow has been experimentally investigated by using a different method for observation and analysis. A number of polystyrene spheres dispersed in sheared water were tracked with a confocal scanning laser microscope, and the time dependences of their coordinates were obtained. Since in the usual mean-square displacement in the flow direction the contribution from the Brownian motion is overwhelmed by that due to the convection, we considered an alternative displacement for which the convection effect could be removed.

Measurement of electrically induced shear strain in a chiral smectic liquid-crystal elastomer.

The mechanical response to electrical stimulation was investigated in a chiral smectic elastomer. The two-dimensional strain tensor in an elastomer film was precisely measured by tracking fluorescent beads dispersed on the film. Shear deformation in the film was clearly observed when an electric field was applied perpendicular to the film surface.

Three-dimensional observation of an immiscible polymer blend subjected to a step electric field under shear flow.

We have investigated the structural change of an immiscible blend consisting of two polymers with equal viscosity subjected to a step electric field under shear flow. During the process, three-dimensional images were successfully acquired with a confocal scanning laser microscope, and at the same time, the transient shear stress was also measured. From the images, the interface tensor was calculated.

Droplet coalescence process under electric fields in an immiscible polymer blend.

The droplet coalescence process was investigated in immiscible polymer blends when subjected to a step electric field. We present sequential three-dimensional images captured during the process with a confocal scanning laser microscope. Characteristic lengths parallel and perpendicular to the electric field were obtained from the spatial correlation functions of the images.

Second-harmonic dielectric response of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal under dc electric fields.

Second-harmonic dielectric response under dc fields in an antiferroelectric liquid-crystal 4-(1-methyl-heptyloxycarbonyl)phenyl 4-octylcarbonyloxybiphenyl- 4-carboxylate (MHPOCBC) has been investigated. The second-harmonic response from the amplitude mode in the smectic- Calpha* phase was observed due to the symmetry breaking by the application of dc electric fields. A Landau theory was developed in order to analyze experimentally obtained frequency dispersions.