Superdiffusion and heterogeneous dynamics in liquid crystals by microrheology

Abstract

Microrheology (MR) has emerged as a powerful tool for unraveling the intricate local viscoelastic properties of various soft materials. By tracking the free (passive MR) or forced (active MR) diffusion of a tracer, valuable insights into the mechanical characteristics of the host system can be obtained. In this study, we investigate the forced diffusion of a spherical tracer within isotropic and smectic liquid crystal phases of hard rod-like particles. Our findings reveal superdiffusive behaviour induced by external forces, particularly pronounced when these are aligned parallel to the nematic director. Analysis of dynamical susceptibility unveils heterogeneities strongly correlated with the magnitude and orientation of applied forces, highlighting the system’s critical dependence on structural ordering. Intriguingly, we observe that tracer superdiffusion, driven by external forces and evident across all relevant system directions, does not demonstrate a strong correlation with resulting dynamical heterogeneities.