Structural phase transition in nematic droplet induced by a static electric field

Abstract

The configuration of director field in a liquid crystal droplet has the radial or bipolar structure depending on the type of anchoring at the droplet surface. We investigate how a radial nematic liquid-crystal droplet is influenced by a static electric field theoretically. We predict a second-order phase transition to a structure in which the singular point of the radial structure is shifted from the center of the droplet. We will calculate the critical field and the dependence of position of singularity on the electric field.