Graphene moir\'e superlattices display electronic flat bands. At integer fillings of these bands, energy gaps due to strong electron-electron interactions are generally observed. However, the presence other correlation-driven phases in twisted graphitic systems at non-integer is unclear. Here, we report scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements that reveal existence threefold rotational ...

We use the effective chiral Lagrangian to analyze the phase diagram of two-flavor twisted mass lattice QCD as a function of the normal and twisted masses, generalizing previous work for the untwisted theory. We first determine the chiral Lagrangian including discretization effects up to next-to-leading order (NLO) in a combined expansion in which m2π/(4πfπ) 2 ∼ aΛ (a being the lattice spacing, ...

Nematic Elastomers (NEs) possess very interesting properties stemming from the interaction between liquid crystal order and rubber elasticity. For such materials, thermally-induced phase transition from the isotropic to the nematic phase may induce very large distortions, which in turn can affect the overall configuration of a macroscopic specimen. The behavior of NEs can be well modeled within...

Topology is a universal concept that is encountered in daily life and is known to determine many static and dynamical properties of matter. Taming and controlling the topology of materials therefore constitutes a contemporary interdisciplinary challenge. Building on the controllable spatial properties of soft matter appears as a relevant strategy to address the challenge, in particular, because...

A lamellar liquid crystal (LC) phase of certain bent-core mesogenic molecules can be grown in a manner that generates a single chiral helical nanofilament in each of the cylindrical nanopores of an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane. By introducing guest molecules into the resulting composite chiral nanochannels, we explore the structures and functionality of the ordered guest/host LC complex...

We have studied the phase sequence and physical properties of an asymmetric bent-core material with a chiral rigid cholesteryl moiety, and a flexible achiral alkyl side chain at the other end. The combination of the achiral bent core with the chiral cholesteryl unit results in properties different from those of both the usual calamitic and bent-core materials. We find that the presence of the b...

This perspective reports on recent progress toward the development of an approach to a priori predict - both chirality “strength” and efficacy transfer from chiral nanoshape solute achiral nematic environment.

The orientational assembly of glass rods (3 x ~15 μm) in nematic, twisted nematic, and cholesteric liquid crystal cells was observed and quantified with optical microscopy. At this size, the rods were affected strongly by gravity and sedimented to the bottom of the cells. Temporal visualization of the sedimentation process (induced by flipping the cell over) shed insight into the effect the liq...

The optical properties of a (0, 2π) transmissive BTN LC cell is optimized by parameter space method. Experimentally the high contrast ratios above 80 within -80° to 80° viewing angle ranges were first obtained. The highest contrast ratio is 250. The large d∆n makes this new BTN large cell gap and low operating voltage possibility. Introduction Bistable twisted nematic (BTN) liquid crystal displ...

The induction and development of chiral supramolecular structures from hierarchical self-assembly of achiral compounds is closely related to the evolution of life and the chiral amplification found in nature. Here we show that the combination of achiral tetraphenylethene (TPE) an AIE-active luminophore bearing four long alkyl chains via amide linkage allows the entire process of induction and c...