Chiral tilt texture domains in two dimensions

Abstract

We study the shape and texture of finite domains comprising chiral/achiral molecules carrying a tilt field embedded in a 2-dimensional surface. Using a combination of simulations and {\it exact} variational calculations, we determine the equilibrium (mean field) phase diagram in the achiral and chiral cases. We find a variety of novel shapes and textures including a {\it spontaneously broken chiral texture} when the molecules are achiral. We show that chiral tilt-domains nucleating in a region of two-phase coexistence, {\it repel} each other, thereby preventing coalescence and further growth. Our work has implications for tilt texture domains in phospholipid monolayers and giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), nucleating domains of Sm-C$^*$ in Sm-A films, and chiral emulsions in Sm-A films.