Elastic deformations in ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals analyzed in terms of a large effective splay elastic constant

Elastic deformations in ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals analyzed in terms of a large effective splay elastic constant | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Elastic deformations in ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals analyzed in terms of a large effective splay elastic constant Ebba Grönfors, Per Rudquist This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8395646/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The recent discovery of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals has sparked intense research activities, both with the goal of understanding of the mechanisms behind the formation of the ferroelectric nematic phase and exploring its possible technological potential. A key characteristic of these materials is that the large value of spontaneous electric polarization makes electrostatic contributions to the free energy match, or even dominate over, the elastic contributions. In sample cells that combine one circularly rubbed surface with one linearly aligning surface, ferroelectric nematics form complex domain configurations. In a first approximation these domains can be predicted by assuming in-plane polar anchoring conditions with minimization of the local twist. However, this simple model is insufficient to fully describe the director field close to the center of circular rubbing. Here we also include the impact from splay and bend deformations, as well as from electrostatic contributions to the free energy. In particular we introduce a large effective splay elastic constant to deal with electrostatic avoidance of splay, and we also allow for a non-negligible surface pretilt. Our simulations agree well with previously published experimental results. The electrostatic stiffening (ESS) model might facilitate a simplified, although powerful, strategy for understanding and development of various ferroelectric nematic device cells. Physical sciences/Materials science Physical sciences/Physics Ferroelectric nematics numerical simulation elastic deformations Oseen-Frank energy polarization charge polarization stiffening circular alig Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryCalculations.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 20 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 06 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 23 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 19 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 30 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 18 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8395646","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":577208601,"identity":"3161e9be-07be-431d-b192-338598db2c24","order_by":0,"name":"Ebba 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