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Paper   IPM / P / 13097
School of Physics
  Title:   Pseudo-Casimir Interactions across Nematic Films with Disordered Anchoring Axis
  Author(s): 
1.  F. Karimi Pour Haddadan
2.  A. Naji
3.  A.Kh. Seifi
4.  R. Podgornik
  Status:   Published
  Journal: J. Physics: Condens. Matter
  Vol.:  26
  Year:  2014
  Pages:   075103
  Supported by:  IPM
  Abstract:
We consider the effective pseudo-Casimir interaction forces mediated by a nematic liquid-crystalline film bounded by two planar surfaces, one of which imposes a random (disordered) distribution of the preferred anchoring axis in the so-called easy direction. We consider both the case of a quenched as well as an annealed disorder for the easy direction on the disordered surface and analyze the resultant fluctuation-induced interaction between the surfaces. In the case of quenched disorder, we show that the disorder effects appear additively in the total interaction and are dominant at intermediate inter-surface separations. Disorder effects are shown to be unimportant at both very small and very large separations. In the case of annealed disorder its effects are non-additive in the total inter-surface interaction and can be rationalized in terms of a renormalized extrapolation length.

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