Formation of vortex flows in liquid crystal phases encapsulated in microliter volumes under the action of focused laser radiation

A theoretical description of the process of formation of vortex flows $\mathbf{v}(t,\mathbf{r})$ and the evolution of the director field $\hat{\mathbf{n}}$ in microliter liquid crystal (LC) volumes with a free surface under the influence of a temperature gradient $\nabla T(t,\mathbf{r})$, which is initiated by focused laser radiation, has been proposed. Thermomechanical contributions to both the stress tensor and viscous moment which are acting per unit volume of the LC phase were taken into account in the framework of the nonlinear generalization of the classical Ericksen–Leslie theory, which allowed describing the origin and formation of vortex flows in nematics formed by 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl molecules. Various hydrodynamic modes of vortex formation in microsized LC volumes under the action of focused laser radiation have been investigated by numerical methods.