Breatherlike defects and their dynamics in the one-dimensional roll structure of twisted nematics

Abstract

The dynamics of the nonsingular defects in the periodic structures of the rolls that appear in π/2-twisted nematic liquid crystals during electroconvection is studied experimentally and theoretically. The roll structures in twisted nematics are characterized by the presence of an axial component of the hydrodynamic flow velocity with opposite directions in neighboring rolls. The critical oscillation frequency of structural defects is quantitatively estimated using a nonlinear equation of motion for roll displacements. It is found that a pair of edge dislocations with topological charges of +1 and–1 nucleates and annihilates periodically during the oscillations of a defect with a nonsingular core. Oscillating defects with a zero topological charge is shown to correspond to the solution of the sine-Gordon equation in the form of standing breathers. Asymmetry is detected in the full oscillation cycle of a breather defect, and it is related to the twist symmetry of a twist nematic. This asymmetry is taken into account as effective anisotropic friction. The behavior of a breather on a trap, namely, a classical defect (dislocation), is investigated. Dislocation motion is shown to be anisotropic in the oscillation cycle: in one direction, a dislocation moves regularly; in the second phase, the transition into the initial state proceeds via the decay of the breather into a dipole pair of dislocations of opposite signs followed by their annihilation.