Fig. 6: Topological structures of the NF phase in cylindrically confined space.
From: Spontaneous electric-polarization topology in confined ferroelectric nematics
a–e Director fields and the corresponding order parameter space of simple polarization vortex (a), escaped vortex (b), concentric meron-like structure (c), divergent meron-like structure (d), and bipolar structure (e). f The polarization fields projected on the xy-plane in different depth positions of the droplets are described nail vectors. Red points mean point or line defect. g State diagram dependent on the ratio of the splay modulus to the bend modulus (\({K}_{11}/{K}_{33}\)) and polarization strength \({P}_{0}\). The bipolar structure appears in the region where both \({K}_{11}\) and \({P}_{0}\) are small. Otherwise, it is replaced by the escaped vortex or D-meron structure. Regions representing different topological structures are distinguished by different colors.
