On Minimizers for the Isotropic-Nematic Interface Problem

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the structure and stability of the isotropic-nematic interface in 1-D. In the absence of the anisotropic energy, the uniaxial solution is the only global minimizer. In the presence of the anisotropic energy, the uniaxial solution with the homeotropic anchoring is stable for L2 < 0 and unstable for L2 > 0. We also present many interesting open questions, some of which are related to De Giorgi conjecture.

Publication
Park J., Wang W., Zhang P., Zhang Z. (2017). On Minimizers for the Isotropic-Nematic Interface Problem. In Calculus of Variations and Partial Differential Equations, 56.