Computer simulation study of a liquid crystal confined to a spherical cavity

The interplay of surface ordering and elasticity can be studied on the example of a liquid crystal confined to a cavity. We present a computer simulation study of a liquid of hard spherocylinders in a hard spherical cavity. With increasing density, first a uniaxial surface film forms and then a biaxial surface film, which eventually fills the entire cavity. We studied how the surface order, the adsorption, and the shape of the director field depend on the curvature of the wall. We find that orientational ordering at a curved wall is stronger than at a flat wall, while adsorption is weaker. For densities above the isotropic-nematic transition, we always find bipolar configurations.