Abstract
The helicoidal structure of the cholesteric liquid crystal phase can be untwisted by the electric field effect. We have shown that spiral-shaped structures could nucleate at the threshold of the field-induced homeotropic state from filaments (linked to the twisted state) embedded in a homeotropic matrix (untwisted cholesteric). In this article, we describe and study what are the mechanisms involved in this phenomenon. In particular, we study to what extent the characteristics suggest a nucleation mechanism based on the propagation from the surfaces of distortions in the distribution of molecules director. These deformations propagate through the homeotropic matrix adjacent to the filaments.
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