A phenomenological model for the undulating twist grain boundary-C* phase |
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| Authors: | P. A. Pramod Yashodhan Hatwalne N. V. Madhusudana |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Physics , Technical University of Lodz , 93-005 Lodz, Poland;2. Department of Industrial and Materials Chemistry , Rzeszow University of Technology , 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland;3. Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research , Postfach 3148, 65021 Mainz, Germany |
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| Abstract: | We propose a simple phenomenological model which is able to account for the various twist grain boundary (TGB) phases, including the recently discovered undulating twist grain boundary-C* (UTGBC*) phase. In the UTGBC* phase, the smectic C* (SmC*)-like blocks and the grain boundaries separating them undulate to form a two-dimensional square lattice perpendicular to the TGB helix axis. We treat the grain boundaries separating adjacent smectic blocks as interfaces with an anisotropic interfacial tension. At moderate chiral strengths we find a TGBA-TGBC-SmC* sequence. As the chiral strength is increased this goes to the sequence TGBA-UTGBC*-SmC*. Such sequences have been observed experimentally. |
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