Effect of Saddle-Splay Elasticity on Stability of Disclination Rings in Nematic Liquid Crystals

In this paper, the stability of disclination ring in nematic liquid crystals is studied. In the presence of saddle-splay elasticity (characterized by k₂₄) the disclination ring has a universal equilibrium radius. Depending on the values of the saddle-splay constant k₂₄, the universal equilibrium radius is altered. When k₂₄>0.92k (m=1/2) and k₂₄>0.88k (m=-1/2), the disclination will be a point rather than a ring, where $k$ is the Frank elastic constant in the one-constant approximation.