On spatial variations of nematic ordering

We present a theory of orientational order in nematic liquid crystals which interpolates between several distinct approaches based on the director field (Oseen and Frank), order parameter tensor (Landau and de Gennes), and orientation probability density function (Onsager). As in density-functional...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physica. D 2008-10, Vol.237 (20), p.2577-2586
Main Authors: Fatkullin, Ibrahim, Slastikov, Valeriy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Exact sciences and technology
Liquid crystals
Nematics
Physics
Spatial patterns
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Summary:We present a theory of orientational order in nematic liquid crystals which interpolates between several distinct approaches based on the director field (Oseen and Frank), order parameter tensor (Landau and de Gennes), and orientation probability density function (Onsager). As in density-functional theories, the suggested free energy is a functional of spatially-dependent orientation distribution, however, the nonlocal effects are taken into account via phenomenological elastic terms rather than by means of a direct pair-correlation function. In illustration of this approach we consider a simplified model with orientation parameter on a circle and reveal its relation to the complex Ginzburg–Landau theory.
ISSN:0167-2789
1872-8022
DOI:10.1016/j.physd.2008.03.048