Chiral dipole induced by azimuthal anchoring on the surface of a planar elastic quadrupole

Abstract

A spherical colloid with the tangential surface nematic director, aligned along the surface meridians, is known as a planar elastic quadrupole. The azimuthal anchoring, however, can induce a deviation of the planar director from the meridional lines. We show that a helical component of the planar surface director at the spherical surface of a planar quadrupole removes all the reflection symmetry planes and gives rise to a chiral elastic dipolar component. Using an ansatz approach, we consider the interplay between the quadrupole and anchoring-induced chiral dipole components. The chirality is enhanced by the bend-twist anisotropy. The interaction of the chiral components changes the attraction directions of two such colloids. In particular, a point appears at which the quadrupolar repulsion is balanced by the dipolar attraction.