We attempt to describe surface defects in smectic A thin films by formulating a free discontinuity problem – that is, a variational problem in which the order parameter is allowed to have jump discontinuities on some (unknown) set. The free energy functional contains an interfacial energy, which penalises dislocations of the smectic layers at the jump. We discuss mathematical issues related to the existence of minimisers and provide examples of minimisers in some simplified settings.
A free discontinuity model for smectic thin films / Ball, J. M.; Canevari, G.; Stroffolini, B.. - In: LIQUID CRYSTALS. - ISSN 0267-8292. - 50:7-10(2023), pp. 1439-1448. [10.1080/02678292.2023.2192183]
A free discontinuity model for smectic thin films
Stroffolini, B.
2023
Abstract
We attempt to describe surface defects in smectic A thin films by formulating a free discontinuity problem – that is, a variational problem in which the order parameter is allowed to have jump discontinuities on some (unknown) set. The free energy functional contains an interfacial energy, which penalises dislocations of the smectic layers at the jump. We discuss mathematical issues related to the existence of minimisers and provide examples of minimisers in some simplified settings.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
