When a voltage is applied to a uniformly aligned nematic liquid crystal, a characteristic texture designated as reverse tilt domain (RTD) appears. The RTD, surrounded by a domain wall, gradually shrinks and finally disappears. The domain wall splits into a pair of disclination lines by increase of the voltage. This work examines the energy dissipation mechanism of annihilation dynamics by ascertaining the phenomenological viscosity $\mathrm{\Gamma }$ based on experimentation. To evaluate $\mathrm{\Gamma }$, the time dependence of curvature radius $R$ is analyzed using an equation $R=A\sqrt{t_0-t}$, where $A$ is a fitting parameter. Parameter $A$ decreased linearly with increasing applied voltage and suddenly became constant. Also, $\mathrm{\Gamma }$ was evaluated from $A$ as a function of voltage. When the voltage reaches a critical value, $\mathrm{\Gamma }$ increased sharply to be one order of magnitude greater than that under low voltages. The critical voltage is consistent with the theoretically expected value at which the splitting of domain wall occurs. The transition of $\mathrm{\Gamma }$ is described clearly by localized deformation of the director field.

• Received 30 October 2023
• Accepted 21 March 2024

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.109.044703