THE COSMOLOGICAL KIBBLE MECHANISM IN THE LABORATORY - STRING FORMATION IN LIQUID-CRYSTALS

Authors
BOWICK MJ CHANDAR L SCHIFF EA SRIVASTAVA AM
Citation
Mj. Bowick et al., THE COSMOLOGICAL KIBBLE MECHANISM IN THE LABORATORY - STRING FORMATION IN LIQUID-CRYSTALS, Science, 263(5149), 1994, pp. 943-945
Citations number
14
Categorie Soggetti
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Journal title
Science → ACNP
ISSN journal
00368075
Volume
263
Issue
5149
Year of publication
1994
Pages
943 - 945
Database
ISI
SICI code
0036-8075(1994)263:5149<943:TCKMIT>2.0.ZU;2-C
Abstract
The production of strings (disclination lines and loops) has been obse rved by means of the Kibble mechanism of domain (bubble) formation in the isotropic-nematic phase transition of the uniaxial nematic liquid crystal 4-cyano-4'-n-pentylbiphenyl. The number of strings formed per bubble is about 0.6. This value is in reasonable agreement with a nume rical simulation of the experiment in which the Kibble mechanism is us ed for the order parameter space of a uniaxial nematic liquid crystal.