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Rod-like objects at high packing fractions can form smectic phases, where therods break rotational and translational symmetry by forming lamellae. Smecticdefects thereby include both discontinuities in the rod orientational order(disclinations), as well as in the positional order (dislocations). In thiswork, we use both experiments and simulations to probe how local and globalgeometrical frustrations affect defect formation in hard-rod smectics. Weconfine a particle-resolved, colloidal smectic within elliptical wells ofvarying size and shape for a smooth variation of the boundary curvature. Wefind that the rod orientation near a boundary - the anchoring - depends uponthe boundary curvature, with an anchoring transition observed at a criticalradius of curvature approximately twice the rod length. The anchoring controlsthe smectic defect structure. By analyzing local and global order parameters,and the topological charges and loops of networks made of the density maxima(rod centers) and density minima (rod ends), we quantify the amount ofdisclinations and dislocations formed with varying confinement geometry. Morecircular confinements, having only planar anchoring, promote disclinations,while more elliptical confinements, with antipodal regions of homeotropicanchoring, promote long-range smectic ordering and dislocation formation. Ourfindings demonstrate how geometrical constraints can control the anchoring anddefect structures of liquid crystals - a principle that is applicable frommolecular to colloidal length scales.

Curvature directed anchoring and defect structure of colloidal smectic liquid crystals in confinement