Tricritical-like behavior of the nonlinear optical refraction at the nematic-isotropic transition in the E7 thermotropic liquid crystal

We use Z-scan technique to investigate the nonlinear optical response of the thermotropic liquid crystal E7 in the neighborhood of the nematic-isotropic phase transition. The analysis of the data for the nonlinear optical birefringence is compatible with an effective critical exponent of the order parameter, β = 0.28 ± 0.03, which is close to the classical value, β = 0.25 , for a tricritical point. The nonlinear optical absorption in the nematic range depends on the geometrical configuration of the nematic director with respect to the polarization beam, and vanishes in the isotropic phase.     

Dielectric relaxation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">trans</Emphasis>-4-propyl-(4-cyanophenyl)-cyclohexane liquid crystals

The frequency dependences of the permittivity of a trans-4-propyl-(4-cyanophenyl)-cyclohexane (3PCH) liquid crystal in the nematic phase are measured in the frequency range 1–2000 MHz for different orientations of the director of liquid-crystal molecules with respect to the polarization of an ac electric field. The temperature dependences of the dielectric and optical characteristics are compared in the range of the transition from the nematic phase to the isotropic liquid phase. The dielectric spectra are approximated numerically, and the times of dipole relaxation upon rotation of the molecules about the short and long axes are determined. It is demonstrated that intramolecular motions make a significant contribution to the relaxation. The activation enthalpies are calculated.     

Spin nematic and antinematic states in a spin-3/2 isotropic non-Heisenberg magnet

The ground state phase diagram of a general isotropic spin-3/2 system with nearest-neighbor exchange is shown to contain unconventionally ordered spin nematic and antinematic states, as well as usual ferro- and antiferromagnetic phases. The two nematic phases have spontaneously broken rotational symmetry characterized by the long-range order of the nematic director u, as well as the broken time-reversal symmetry described by the pseudospin vector σ. Nematic phase differs from antinematic one by the type of ordering in σ vectors (uniform versus staggered). The ferromagnet-nematic and antiferromagnet-antinematic phase boundaries exhibit enhanced Sp(4) symmetry and correspond to the recently studied effective theory for spin-3/2 cold gases. We discuss optical properties and topological defects in the nematic phases.     

Molecular orientations and photorefractive effects in C60-doped liquid crystals with capillary-flow-induced alignment

Molecular orientations and photorefractive effects of C₆₀-doped nematic liquid crystals were investigated with layer-structured liquid crystal cells where a nematic phase was injected. Regardless of the surface treatments of the layers, liquid crystals injected with nematic phase showed a higher degree of director orientation and photorefractivity than those injected with an isotropic phase. The nematic alignment of liquid crystals in an untreated cell is generated by a capillary flow of liquid crystal during the nematic injection. However, it was observed that the grating formation was delayed a little longer with injection of nematic phase than with injection of isotropic phase. Received: 11 March 2002 / Revised version: 22 April 2002 / Published online: 12 July 2002     

Molecular field theory for nematic liquid crystal film with finite layers

The nematic liquid crystal film composed of n molecular layers is studied based upon a spatially anisotropic pair potential, which reproduces approximately the elastic free energy density. On condition that the system has perfect nematic order, as in the Lebwohl—Lasher model, the director in the film is isotropic. The effect of the temperature is investigated by means of molecular field theory. Some new results are obtained. Firstly, symmetry breaking takes place when taking account of the temperature, and the state with the director along the normal of the film has the lowest free energy. Secondly, the N—I phase transition temperature increases as an effect of finite sizes instead of decreasing as in the Lebwohl—Lasher model. Thirdly, the nematic order is induced in the layers near the surface in the isotropic phase.     

Kinetic pathways for the isotropic-nematic phase transition in a system of colloidal hard rods: a simulation study

We study the kinetic pathways for the isotropic-to-nematic transition in a fluid of colloidal hard rods. In order to follow the formation of the nematic phase, we develop a new cluster criterion that distinguishes nematic clusters from the isotropic phase. Applying this criterion in Monte Carlo simulations, we find spinodal decomposition as well as nucleation and growth depending on the supersaturation. We determine the height of the nucleation barrier and we study the shape and structure of the cluster. More specifically, we find ellipsoidal nematic clusters with an aspect ratio of about 1.7 and a homogeneous nematic director field. Our results are consistent with theoretical predictions on the shape and director field of nematic tactoids. Classical nucleation theory gives reasonable predictions for the height of the nucleation barrier and the critical nucleus size.     

Elastic effects in disordered nematic networks

Elastic effects in a model of disordered nematic elastomers are numerically investigated in two dimensions. Networks crosslinked in the isotropic phase exhibit an unusual soft mechanical response against stretching. It arises from a gradual alignment of orientationally correlated regions that are elongated along the director. A sharp crossover to a macroscopically aligned state is obtained on further stretching. The effect of random internal stress is also discussed.     

Isotropic to nematic transition of aerosil-disordered liquid crystals

We present a high-resolution study of the isotropic to nematic phase transition of a low birefringence liquid-crystal compound incorporating an aerosil gel. Calorimetry, light scattering, and microscopy data coherently combine to allow for an accurate determination of the temperature dependence of the onset of the nematic state. The nematic order develops on cooling through two distinct processes while the nematic correlation length mildly decreases. We understand the doubling of the phase transition as due to a crossover from a random-dilution regime, where the silica gel couples to the scalar part of the nematic order parameter, to a low-T random-field regime, where the coupling induces distortions in the director field.     

Energetics of 2D colloids in free-standing smectic-C films

The formation of regular colloid patterns in free-standing smectic films at the transition from the smectic-C to the isotropic or nematic phase is well known experimentally. The self-organization of isotropic or nematic droplets is caused by their mutual interaction, mediated by elastic distortions of the local director in the surrounding liquid crystal. These distortions are related to the anchoring conditions of the director at the droplet border. We describe analytically the energetics of the liquid crystal environment of a single droplet in one-constant approximation. A method of complex analysis, Conformal Mapping, is employed. Following a suggestion of Dolganov et al. (Phys. Rev. E. 73, 041706 (2006)), energetics of chain and grid patterns built from the colloids are investigated numerically in order to explain experimentally observed formations and their director fields.     

Surface reorientation dynamics of nematic liquid crystals

In this paper we report an experimental investigation on the dynamics of the azimuthal director reorientation at a nematic-solid interface. Three qualitatively different kinds of substrates have been investigated: I) intrinsically anisotropic SiO-substrates (-evaporation), II) isotropic SiO-substrates (-evaporation) and III) rubbed PVA-substrates. In the case II), an in-plane anisotropy was induced cooling slowly the thermotropic nematic liquid crystal (NLC) from the isotropic phase in the presence of a 0.75 T magnetic field. The reorientation dynamic of the surface azimuthal director angle at the switching-on and off of a magnetic (or electric) field has been investigated. All the substrates show comparable azimuthal anchoring energies and two dynamic regimes: a fast dynamic response, driven by the bulk director reorientation and an extremely slow reorientation. The slow dynamics is explained in terms of anisotropic adsorption of NLC molecules on the solid substrate and is well represented by a stretched exponential. Received 7 December 1998     

平行排列丝状液晶在超短脉冲激光激励下发生瞬态扭曲形变的最佳偏振角

利用光学相位延迟法，观察到平行排列丝状液晶在超短脉冲激光（10ns）激励下的瞬态扭曲形变.实验结果表明，虽然脉冲激光的电场强度远远大于液晶发生扭曲形变的阈值，但并不能保证液晶会发生瞬态扭曲形变.这主要是因为脉冲激光的激励时间非常短，而液晶分子发生扭曲形变的响应时间相对较长，从而使其来不及形变.分析发现：激励激光的偏振方向与平行排列丝状液晶分子的最佳夹角是45°.利用此条件，观察到掺微量D型苏氨酸卟啉的平行排列丝状液晶在超短脉冲激光激励后具有记忆效应，这在光存储和记忆显示方面有很大的实用价值.     

Dielectric and optical properties of a 5-propyl-2-(<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-cyanophenyl)-pyridine liquid crystal

The temperature dependences of the dielectric and optical parameters for a 5-propyl-2-(p-cyanophenyl)-pyridine (3CP) liquid crystal are investigated in the vicinity of the nematic-isotropic phase transition. The dielectric spectra of the 3CP compound in the crystalline, nematic, and isotropic phases are measured in the frequency range 1–1000 MHz, and the Debye approximations of the measured spectra are obtained. Analysis of the dependence of the static permittivity on the director orientation with respect to the direction of the electric pump field demonstrates that the angle between the dipole moment and the long axis of the molecule is approximately equal to 15°.     

External field induced tricritical phenomenon in the isotropicnematic phase transition of hard non-spherical particle systems

The effect of static external field is studied on the isotropic–nematic phase transition of a system of hard non-spherical particles (rods or platelets) with negative anisotropic polarizability (susceptabilities). On the basis of Onsager theory, the phase coexistence curve is calculated numerically without any approximation. It is found that a weakly ordered nematic phase (uniaxial planar) is in coexistence with a highly ordered biaxial nematic phase which ends at a tricritical point. In the limit of infinite field strength, the orientations of the particles are confined in a plane perpendicular to the field and continuous isotropic–nematic phase transition takes place.     

Gravitational and thermocapillary mechanisms of hydrodynamic motions in liquid crystals induced by laser with a spatially periodic intensity structure

A possibility of excitation of hydrodynamic convective motions of the Rayleigh-Benard and Marangoni type in isotropic liquids and nematic liquid crystals upon absorption of light with a spatially periodic intensity distribution is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. The opportunity of control and the stability of convective motions are studied. Benard cells become unstable when the light intensity is high. These instabilities are of the thermal origin because the Prandtl number for the medium under study is considerably larger than unity. The competition between the gravitational and thermocapillary mechanisms of photohydrodynamic reorientation of nematic liquid crystal director is also studied. The reorientation of the molecules due to the thermocapillary mechanism causes an optical nonlinearity which is three orders of magnitude stronger than the well-known direct orientational optical nonlinearity.     

Detecting columnar deformations in a supermesogenic octapode by proton NMR relaxometry

We used proton ( ¹H nuclear magnetic relaxation (NMR) dispersions to study the molecular dynamics in the isotropic phase and mesophases (nematic and columnar hexagonal) of a supermesogenic octapode formed by laterally connecting calamitic mesogens to an inorganic silsesquioxane cube through flexible spacers. The dispersions of the spin-lattice relaxation time (T₁) are interpreted through relaxation mechanisms used for the study of molecular dynamics in low-molar-mass liquid crystals but adapted to the case of liquid crystalline supermolecules. At high frequencies (above 10MHz) the behaviour of the T₁ with the Larmor frequency is similar for all phases and is ascribed to local reorientations and/or rotations. At intermediate and low frequencies (below 10MHz) our results show notable differences in the T₁ behaviour with respect to the mesophases. The nematic (N) and isotropic (Iso) phases’ low-frequency results are similar and are interpreted for both phases in terms of order director fluctuations (ODF), revealing that even in the isotropic phase local nematic order is detected by proton NMR relaxometry. Local nematic order in the Iso phase is interpreted in terms of the presence of nematic cybotactic clusters induced by the interdigitation of mesogens that is promoted by the silsesquioxane octapode molecular structure. In the columnar hexagonal (Col _h phase, the T₁ dispersions show that elastic columnar deformations (ECD) dominate the nuclear magnetic relaxation below 10MHz. This result shows that the columnar packing of the octapode clearly restricts the collective fluctuations of the mesogenic units inspite of their local nematic order.     

Changes of thermo-morphologic and thermotropic properties of liquid crystals at direct and reverse nematic mesophase ↔ isotropic liquid phase transitions: surface-induced effect

In this work, the effect of thin films on the thermo-morphologic and thermotropic properties of the phase transitions between the nematic mesophase and isotropic liquid has been investigated. Investigations have been carried out for both the heating and cooling processes. The temperature and linear widths of the biphasic regions of the direct and reverse phase transitions in nematic liquid crystals versus thickness of the thin films have been calculated with a high accuracy. The shift of the nematic mesophase–isotropic liquid and the isotropic liquid–nematic mesophase phase transition temperatures to higher temperatures and the enlargement of the temperature and linear widths of the biphasic regions as the effect of surfaces have been found.     

Fluctuation shift of the nematic–isotropic phase transition temperature

A macroscopic counterpart to the microscopic mechanism of the straightening dimer mesogens conformations, proposed recently by S.M. Saliti, M.G. Tamba, S.N. Sprunt, C. Welch, G.H. Mehl, A. Jakli, and J.T. Gleeson [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 217801 (2016)] to explain their experimental observation of the unprecedentedly large shift of the nematic–isotropic transition temperature is discussed. The proposed interpretation is based on singular longitudinal fluctuations of the nematic order parameter. Since these fluctuations are governed by the Goldstone director fluctuations, they exist only in the nematic state. External magnetic field suppresses the singular longitudinal fluctuations of the order parameter (similarly as is the case for the transverse director fluctuations, although with a different scaling over the magnetic field). The reduction of the fluctuations changes the equilibrium value of the magnitude of the order parameter in the nematic state. Therefore, it leads to additional (with respect to the mean field contribution) fluctuation shift of the nematic–isotropic transition temperature. Our mechanism works for any nematic liquid crystals, however the magnitude of the fluctuation shift increases with decrease in the Frank elastic moduli. Since some of these moduli supposed to be anomalously small for so-called bent-core or dimer nematic liquid crystals, just these liquid crystals are promising candidates for the observation of the predicted fluctuation shift of the phase transition temperature.     

Stress anisotropy in liquid crystalline phases

Monte Carlo simulations of bulk liquid crystals in the isotropic, nematic and smectic phases were performed. The simulations were carried out using different box shapes. The diagonal components of the pressure tensor were calculated to verify that the system is in mechanical equilibrium. For simulations in cubic boxes it was found that the three components of the pressure tensor had the same values in the isotropic and nematic phases but they were different in the smectic phase, i.e. the system seemed to be under anisotropic stress. NVT and NPT simulations in the smectic phase were performed by allowing the box sides to fluctuate independently; in this case, the average diagonal components of the pressure tensor had the same value. Inaccurate calculation of the total pressure produces incorrect equilibrium boundaries in the phase diagram. Microphases and poorly defined layering can be found in simulations of smectic phases when they are performed on cubic boxes. Although the pressure anisotropy is relaxed out, the layering structure in smectic phases seems to depend on the initial configuration, regardless of the simulation method.     

Critical voltages and blocking stresses in nematic gels

We present a model of the dynamics of director rotation in nematic gels under combined electro-mechanical loading. Focusing on a model specimen, we describe the critical voltages that must be exceeded to achieve director reorientation, and the blocking stresses that prevent alignment of the nematic director with the applied electric field. The corresponding phase diagram shows that the dynamic thresholds defined above are different from those predicted on the sole basis of energetics. Multistep loading programs are used to explore the energy landscape of our model specimen, showing the existence of multiple local minima under the same voltage and applied stress. This leads us to conclude that hysteresis should be expected in the electro-mechanical response of nematic gels.     

Parameters of LC molecules’ movement measured by dielectric spectroscopy in wide temperature range

Dielectric properties of a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) mixture ZhK-1282 were investigated in the frequency range of 10²–10⁶Hz and a temperature range of ?20 to 80?°С. On the basis of the Debye’s relaxation polarization model dielectric spectra of temperature dependence of the orientational relaxation time τ and the dielectric strength δe were numerically approximated at the parallel orientation of a molecular director relative to alternating electric field. Influence of ester components in the mixture plays crucial role in relaxation processes at low temperature and external field frequency. The activation energy of the relaxation process of a rotation of molecules around their short axis was measured in a temperature interval of ?20 to ?+15?°С in which the dispersion of a longitudinal component of the dielectric constant takes place. The energy of potential barrier for polar molecules rotation in the mesophase was calculated. The value of the transition entropy from the nematic to isotropic phase was obtained from this calculation. The values of the coefficient of molecular friction and rotational diffusion were obtained by different methods. The experimental data obtained are in a satisfactory agreement with the existing theoretical models.