Title: Molecular simulations of entangled defect structures around nanoparticles in nematic liquid crystals,
Abstract: We investigate the defect structures forming around two nanoparticles in a
Gay-Berne nematic liquid crystal using molecular simulations. For small
separations, disclinations entangle both particles forming the figure of eight,
the figure of omega and the figure of theta. These defect structures are
similar in shape and occur with a comparable frequency to micron-sized
particles studied in experiments. The simulations reveal fast transitions from
one defect structure to another suggesting that particles of nanometre size
cannot be bound together effectively. We identify the 'three-ring' structure
observed in previous molecular simulations as a superposition of the different
entangled and non-entangled states over time and conclude that it is not itself
a stable defect structure.