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Symmetry-adapted molecular-field theory for thermotropic biaxial liquid crystals and its expansion at low temperature

Symmetry-adapted molecular-field theory for thermotropic biaxial liquid crystals and its expansion at low temperature
Symmetry-adapted molecular-field theory for thermotropic biaxial liquid crystals and its expansion at low temperature

We have analyzed some properties of mean field theories of thermotropic biaxial liquid crystals with ($D_{2h}$) symmetry. The study consists of two parts. In the first part we reexamine the standard theory due to Virga and coworkers. We introduce a convenient symmetry-adapted parameterization which allows the phase diagram to be displayed in an explicitly symmetry-preserving triangle. In the second part we use the Laplace approximation to examine the low temperature properties of the liquid crystal order parameters. Two of these (conventionally, $D,P$) are identically zero at zero temperature in a biaxially ordered phase and nonzero at low temperatures in the liquid crystalline phases but are again zero at higher temperatures in the isotropic phase. We use a low temperature expansion to derive an expression for the dominant terms in the free energy. This functional is minimized to obtain the low temperature properties of the order parameters $D,P$.


liquid crystals, phase transitions, invariance and symmetry properties
0036-1399
1139-1163
Turzi, Stefano
e33458ff-7b11-4c77-b40f-7c8f3146f5a0
Sluckin, Timothy J.
8dbb6b08-7034-4ae2-aa65-6b80072202f6
Turzi, Stefano
e33458ff-7b11-4c77-b40f-7c8f3146f5a0
Sluckin, Timothy J.
8dbb6b08-7034-4ae2-aa65-6b80072202f6

Turzi, Stefano and Sluckin, Timothy J. (2013) Symmetry-adapted molecular-field theory for thermotropic biaxial liquid crystals and its expansion at low temperature. SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, 73 (3), 1139-1163. (doi:10.1137/120897237).

Record type: Article

Abstract


We have analyzed some properties of mean field theories of thermotropic biaxial liquid crystals with ($D_{2h}$) symmetry. The study consists of two parts. In the first part we reexamine the standard theory due to Virga and coworkers. We introduce a convenient symmetry-adapted parameterization which allows the phase diagram to be displayed in an explicitly symmetry-preserving triangle. In the second part we use the Laplace approximation to examine the low temperature properties of the liquid crystal order parameters. Two of these (conventionally, $D,P$) are identically zero at zero temperature in a biaxially ordered phase and nonzero at low temperatures in the liquid crystalline phases but are again zero at higher temperatures in the isotropic phase. We use a low temperature expansion to derive an expression for the dominant terms in the free energy. This functional is minimized to obtain the low temperature properties of the order parameters $D,P$.


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More information

Published date: May 2013
Keywords: liquid crystals, phase transitions, invariance and symmetry properties
Organisations: Applied Mathematics

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Local EPrints ID: 369792
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/369792
ISSN: 0036-1399
PURE UUID: a952307b-545c-4dca-95be-769fa56aee9f
ORCID for Timothy J. Sluckin: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9163-0061

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Date deposited: 13 Oct 2014 10:47
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:32

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Author: Stefano Turzi

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