Theory of Defects in Condensed Phases of Langmuir Monolayers

Recent fluorescence-microscopy experiments have observed two types of defects—star defects and striped textures-in the liquid—condensed phases of Langmuir monolayers. These defects can be understood through a continuum elastic theory. This theory predicts both splay stripes, which are driven by the asymmetry between molecular heads and tails, and bend stripes, which are driven by a spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry in the monolayer. These predictions are compared with experimental observations.