Chirality And Shape In Liquid Crystal Tactoids

Droplets or tactoids of anisotropic fluids such as liquid crystals may adopt non-spherical equilibrium shapes when immersed in an isotropic host. This is possible due to a competition between the isotropic and anisotropic components of surface tension as well as elasticity. The presence of chirality greatly enriches the space of permissible shapes because of the possibility of geometric frustration: In bulk, chiral liquid crystals adopt a periodic helical configuration; while in a confined geometry this preferred periodic structure may be incompatible with the confinement. We numerically investigate how the chiral order of the liquid crystal may be imprinted on the droplet shape by elucidating the solution space of chiral liquid crystals as a function of material parameters. We find both commensurate and frustrated solutions. Prospects for experimental realization will also be discussed.