Particle-resolved topological defects of smectic colloidal liquid crystals in extreme confinement

Hard particles are a standard model for colloidal systems and can be effectively studied within classical density functional theory (DFT). Fundamental mixed measure theory (FMMT) allows to predict the phase behavior of a hard-body fluid solely from the shape of individual particles.

Recent experimental advances allow for the synthesis of colloids with a nearly hard interaction that can be analyzed on the single-particle level. Slices of a system of such silica rods confined in a three-dimensional chamber under gravity can be considered a quasi-two-dimensional fluid that exhibits typical liquid-crystal behavior in confinement.

Applying FMMT to hard discorectangles in two dimensions, we map out a full phase diagram. Then we focus on a smectic fluid in extreme confinement, where the optimal bulk layer spacing competes with the extrinsic geometric and topological constraints. As a result, we characterize a variety of topologically different states in an annular geometry, also observed in particle-resolved experiments with silica rods. By further comparing the free energy of the different states, we map out a topological phase diagram, indicating the stable state depending on the details of the annular confinement.