Spatiotemporal synchronization of domain oscillations in the system of electroconvection in nematic liquid crystals

The dynamics of a nonstationary pseudo-hexagonal domain structure that appears during the electroconvection in nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) in a constant electric field has been studied using the optical diffraction techniques and the temporal Fourier analysis of the intensity of light transmitted through an NLC cell. The system evolution from an unperturbed state to a regime of developed domain oscillations is traced. It is established that, above the electrohydrodynamic instability threshold, the spatiotemporal synchronization of domain oscillations in a planar NLC layer takes place in the entire sample, which is manifested by the formation of a superlattice with the nodes at the sources of phase waves.