Abstract |
A simple extension of McMillan's mean-field model of the nematic- and smectic-A phases is reported. Specifically, terms proportional to fourth-order Legendre polynomials are included in the mean field. For a reasonable range of parameter choices this mean field can restrict the most probable directions of the long axis of a molecule in a smectic layer to a cone with the axis of the cone parallel to the optic axis. This result is related to recent quadrupole-magnetic-resonance observations of molecular order, and also to x-ray experiments which find that the repeat distance of the smectic layers is less than the all-trans length of the molecule. Finally, a possible connection to recent theories of the smectic-A—smectic-C transition is pointed out.
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Recommended Citation |
Kuzma, M. R.; Allender, David W (1982). Mean-Field Study of Molecular Tilt in Uniaxial Liquid-Crystalline Phases. Physical Review A 25(5) 2793-2800. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevA.25.2793. Retrieved from https://oaks.kent.edu/phypubs/82
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Copyright 1982 American Physical Society. Available on publisher's site at http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.25.2793.