(1) Haldia Govt. College, P.O.-Debhog, Pin-721657, Dist.-East Midnapore, India;(2) Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung, 55021 Mainz, Germany;(3) Theoretische Physik III, Universität Bayreuth, D-95540 Bayreuth, Germany
Abstract:
In this paper we discuss the direct isotropic to chiral smectic-C phase transition on the basis of a phenomenological theory. The model free energy is written in terms of the coupled order parameters including the spontaneous polarization. We present a detailed analysis of the different phases that can occur and analyze the question under which conditions a direct isotropic to chiral smectic-C phase transition is possible when compared to other phase transitions. On the basis of this model the isotropic-smectic-C* transition is always of first order. The theoretical predictions are compared with the available experimental results.-1
