Striped patterns in a thin droplet of a smectic C phase

Abstract

The observation of striped patterns in a thin droplet of a smectic C phase (Sm C) deposited on a substrate with unidirectional anchoring has led us to the study of the geometry of lines of half-integral strength. A theoretical analysis of these observations, based on a covariant formalism of the elasticity of Sm C phases, and using an analogy with magnetic systems because of the presence of a Néel wall attached to disclinations, has enabled us to draw some conclusions about the relative orders of magnitude of four of the ten stiffness coefficients of the Sm C under study (D.O.B.C.P.)