Undulating paired disclinations (oily streaks) in lyotropic liquid crystals

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Abstract
Optical microscopy reveals regular periodic undulations of the lateral position of the axes of paired disclinations or « oily streaks » in thin, fully hydrated lyotropic liquid crystals of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) in the Lα (smectic A) phase. These undulations explain the characteristic dark bands that traverse the paired disclinations on observation with crossed polarizers. When paired disclinations are adjacent, their undulation periods become equal and lock in phase. The undulations appear spontaneously in all paired disclinations on formation of homeotropically aligned specimens in the Lα phase