Heat-driven rotation in cholesteric droplets with a double twisted structure

In an isotropic-cholesteric coexistence system, a single-helix structure is formed in the cholesteric droplets, and when a temperature gradient is applied, unidirectional rotations are induced in these droplets. However, in a previous work, we showed that a double twisted structure was also formed in the droplets by changing droplet size or chirality. In this paper, we find that unidirectional rotations are also induced by applying a temperature gradient to droplets with a double twisted structure. Here, however, the rotational behavior is strongly dependent on the relationship between the direction of the helical axis and the temperature gradient. Unidirectional rotation is induced when one of the helical axes is parallel to the gradient, whereas no rotation is found when all of the axes are perpendicular to the temperature gradient. These results suggest that the macroscopic helix plays a significant role in the heat-driven rotational dynamics of cholesteric droplets.