Pattern Formation for Nematic Liquid Crystals-Modelling, Analysis, and Applications

Abstract

We summarise some recent results on solution landscapes for two-dimensional (2D) problems in the Landau--de Gennes theory for nematic liquid crystals. We study energy-minimizing and non energy-minimizing solutions of the Euler--Lagrange equations associated with a reduced Landau-de Gennes free energy on 2D domains with Dirichlet tangent boundary conditions. We review results on the multiplicity and regularity of solutions in distinguished asymptotic limits, using variational methods, methods from the theory of nonlinear partial differential equations, combinatorial arguments and scientific computation. The results beautifully canvass the competing effects of geometry (shape, size and symmetry), material anisotropy, and the symmetry of the model itself, illustrating the tremendous possibilities for exotic ordering transitions in 2D frameworks.