Hydrodynamics of nematic liquid crystals due to direct volume expansion

Hydrodynamics of planar nematic liquid crystal molecules under the influence of horizontal pressure gradient was studied, theoretically. The pressure gradient is due to nematic liquid crystal volume expansion which is a consequence of the incompressibility of the liquid. The resulting director reorientation which is due to coupling between the director orientation and fluidity of the liquid is calculated numerically for the hard and weak anchoring conditions at the cell walls.     

Theory of microphase separation on side-chain liquid-crystalline polymers with flexible spacers

We model a melt of monodisperse side-chain liquid-crystalline polymers as a melt of comb copolymers in which the side groups are rod-coil diblock copolymers. We consider both excluded-volume and Maier-Saupe interactions. The first acts among any pair of segments while the latter acts only between rods. Using a free-energy functional calculated from this microscopic model, we study the spinodal stability of the isotropic phase against density and orientational fluctuations. The phase diagram obtained in this way predicts nematic and smectic instabilities as well as the existence of microphases or phases with modulated wave vector but without nematic ordering. Such microphases are the result of the competition between the incompatibility among the blocks and the connectivity constraints imposed by the spacer and the backbone. Also the effects of the polymerization degree and structural conformation of the monomeric units on the phase behavior of the side-chain liquid-crystalline polymers are studied.     

Steady low shear rate cholesteric flow normal to the helical axis

Steady cholesteric flow at low shear rate normal to the helical axis is studied analytically for shear flow and plane Poiseuille flow on the basis of Leslie’s continuum theory. For general asymmetric solutions the angle made by the director at the sample centre with the primary flow is found to profoundly affect the oscillations of the apparent viscosity with pitch for pitches of the order of the sample thickness. The velocity and orientation profiles are also found to change drastically. These considerations may be important in flow experiments on long pitch cholesterics.     

Zigzag instability of a χ disclination line in a cholesteric liquid crystal

We studied the formation of χ disclination lines in planar cholesteric samples placed in a temperature gradient near the cholesteric to smectic A phase transition. We observed that the first simple line which forms close to the smectic-cholesteric front zigzags when it is perpendicular to the direction of planar anchoring and is straight for other orientations. This instability is similar to Herring instability for crystalline surfaces. We show numerically that it originates from a strong increase of the elastic anisotropy close to the transition. In addition, we propose a new method to measure the pitch divergence at the smectic to cholesteric phase transition.     

Depletion effects in smectic phases of hard-rod-hard-sphere mixtures

It is known that when hard spheres are added to a pure system of hard rods the stability of the smectic phase may be greatly enhanced, and that this effect can be rationalised in terms of depletion forces. In the present paper we first study the effect of orientational order on depletion forces in this particular binary system, comparing our results with those obtained adopting the usual approximation of considering the rods parallel and their orientations frozen. We consider mixtures with rods of different aspect ratios and spheres of different diameters, and we treat them within Onsager theory. Our results indicate that depletion effects, and consequently smectic stability, decrease significantly as a result of orientational disorder in the smectic phase when compared with corresponding data based on the frozen-orientation approximation. These results are discussed in terms of the τ parameter, which has been proposed as a convenient measure of depletion strength. We present closed expressions for τ, and show that it is intimately connected with the depletion potential. We then analyse the effect of particle geometry by comparing results pertaining to systems of parallel rods of different shapes (spherocylinders, cylinders and parallelepipeds). We finally provide results based on the Zwanzig approximation of a fundamental-measure density-functional theory applied to mixtures of parallelepipeds and cubes of different sizes. In this case, we show that the τ parameter exhibits a linear asymptotic behaviour in the limit of large values of the hard-rod aspect ratio, in conformity with Onsager theory, as well as in the limit of large values of the ratio of rod breadth to cube side length, d, in contrast to Onsager approximation, which predicts τ ∼ d ³. Based on both this result and the Percus-Yevick approximation for the direct correlation function for a hard-sphere binary mixture in the same limit of infinite asymmetry, we speculate that, for spherocylinders and spheres, the τ parameter should be of order unity as d tends to infinity.     

Macroscopic properties of smectic liquid crystals

We discuss the macroscopic behavior of smectic C_G liquid crystals. Smectic C_G is the most general tilted smectic phase that is fluid in the layers. It is characterized by global C₁ symmetry. Consequently, it is ferroelectric, pyroelectric and piezoelectric, opening up a number of possible applications for such a phase. As smectic C_G-phase has a macroscopic hand due to its structure, it is a natural candidate to explain the recent experimental observations of left and right-handed helices in a system composed of achiral molecules. We also discuss critically to what extent smectic C_G could be important for liquid crystalline phases formed by banana-shaped molecules. Phase transitions involving a smectic C_G phase and defects of its in-plane director are briefly discussed. Received: 25 March 1998 / Revised: 15 June 1998 / Accepted: 15 July 1998     

Polymorphism and chevron layer structure of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal studied by X-ray diffraction

We report X-ray diffraction experiments performed on an antiferroelectric compound exhibiting a very rich polymorphism (). The structural study of the unknown phases only allows us to exclude some phenomenological models. The use of oriented planar samples prepared between solid glass plates generate by cooling from the phase a chevron structure of tilted layers already well characterized for the phase. The extensive analysis of the evolution of the chevron structure through the numerous smectic-smectic phase transitions provides some original information in three distinct areas: fundamental data on the important physical parameters in the chevron structure formation, detection of the smectic-smectic phases transition by small change of the chevron structure, and information on the local molecular order induced by the alignment layer (interaction with a rubbed polymer). Received: 13 November 1996 / Received in final form: 19 January 1997 / Accepted: 30 January 1998     

Light Wave Interactions in Active Nonlinear Crystals with Quadratic Nonlinearity

Recent results in the field of three-frequency wave interaction in homogeneous and inhomogeneous (periodically poled) active nonlinear crystals with quadratic nonlinearity are reviewed. The quasi-phase-matched processes of self-frequency doubling, self-frequency halving, and frequency mixing of the pump and laser radiations are studied. The consecutive quasi-phase-matched processes of the third-harmonic generation and parametric amplification with low-frequency pumping in periodically poled active nonlinear crystals are also investigated. The analysis is carried out for the case of a periodically poled Nd:Mg:LiNbO₃ crystal. Perspectives of using periodically poled active nonlinear crystals in laser devices with self-frequency conversion are discussed.     

Defects in a TGBA phase: A theoretical approach

Following our experimental observations of disclination lines in freely suspended droplets and free-standing films (Yu.A. Nastishin et al., Eur. Phys. J. E 5 353 (2001)), topological defects of the twist grain boundary (TGBA) phase are considered according to two aspects: topological and energetical. There are two classes of line defects, disclinations (as in the cholesteric (N*) phase and the liquid vortices phase (NL*), relating to the directors tripod symmetries) and dispirations (relating to the translation-rotation symmetries); there are no topological point defects. Differences between N*, NL* and TGBA disclinations are physical, not topological. The absence of focal conic domains in the TGBA phase is an immediate consequence of the materialization of the helical axis (along the χ-director); the same feature, coupled to the trend to parallelism of the smectic layers, accounts for the predominance of λ-lines. Finally, the presence of defects akin to developable domains is explained in the frame of the leastcurvaturemodel, that requires the introduction of a third type of defects: the densitiesofedgedislocations of the smectic layers. Received 20 February 2002     

Active and tunable metamaterials

Metamaterial research is an extremely important global activity that promises to change our lives in many different ways. These include making objects invisible and the dramatic impact of metamaterials upon the energy and medical sectors of society. Behind all of the applications, however, lies the business of creating metamaterials that are not going to be crippled by the kind of loss that is naturally heralded by use of resonant responses in their construction. This review sets out some solutions to the management of loss and gain, coupled to controlled and nonlinear behavior, and discusses some critical consequences concerning stability. Under the general heading of active and tunable metamaterials, an international spectrum of authors collaborates here to present a set of solutions that addresses these issues in several directions. As will be appreciated, the range of possible solutions is really fascinating, and it is hoped that these discussions will act as a further stimulus to the field.     

Active plasmonics: current status

Techniques for active modulation and control of plasmonic signals in future highly‐integrated nanophotonic devices have advanced rapidly in recent years, with recent innovations extending performance into the terahertz frequency and femtojoule‐per‐bit switching energy domains. As thoughts turn towards the development of practical device structures, key technologies are compared in this review and prospects are assessed for the future development of the field.     

PEDOT as an alignment layer and electrode in AFLC devices

PEDOT [Poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly (styrenesulfonate)] is a material typically used organic light emission displays (OLEDs) manufactured as a conductor, or rather, as a hole injector. In this paper, three different issues have been studied: the use of rubbed PEDOT as alignment layer, the resistivity of the applied PEDOT layers, i.e., its potential as a replacement of ITO electrodes, and the induction of asymmetry in the electro-optical response of liquid crystal cells by assembling the display with dissimilar coated aligning surfaces — PEDOT on one side and buffed nylon on the counter electrode     

Orientational Distribution of Fibres in Sheared Fibre Suspensions

Motion of fibres in sheared fibre suspensions is simulated numerically by using the lattice Boltzmann method. The orientational distributions of the fibres are presented for different Reynolds numbers, Stokes numbers, shear rate and fibre aspect ratio. Some computational results are compared with the experimental data of pipe flow, and the qualitative agreement is achieved. The results show that the orientational distributions are greatly affected by the Reynolds numbers, while relatively insensitive to the fibre aspect ratio. The Stokes number and shear rate have obvious influence on the orientation distribution.     

Effect of a strong electric field on a nematogen: evidence for polar short range order

We present experimental studies on the effect of strong electric fields on the nematogen p-cyanophenyl p-n-heptyl benzoate which has the strongly polar cyano end group and a large positive dielectric anisotropy. We use a local temperature measurement to take into account heating effects and an electrical impedance analysis to determine both the dielectric constant () and the resistance (R) of the sample. We also measure the higher harmonic responses of the medium. The new results obtained in this study are: (i) a detailed temperature dependence of the terms which describe (a) the quenching of macroscopic thermal fluctuations of the nematic director and (b) the enhancement of the orientational order parameter due to Kerr effect, (ii) clear evidence for the critical divergence of susceptibility as reflected in the third harmonic signal, (iii) an unusual enhancement of the conductivity which shows a large peak just below the critical point , (iv) a significant peak in the second harmonic signal at and (v) evidence for a field induced nematic-nematic transition well inside the nematic range. We argue that the results (iii)-(v) indicate the presence of polar short range order in the medium and hence support a molecular model in which such an order has been proposed. Received: 15 July 1997 / Received in final form: 24 September 1997 / Accepted: 29 October 1997     

Tilted smectic layers of a liquid crystal between homeotropically treated plates

We investigated SmC^* films sandwiched between silane coated glass plates and observed formation of textures exhibiting a uniform tilt of the smectic layers with respect to the boundary plates. The layer tilt angle increases from zero to as the sample is cooled from the smectic A phase to room temperature. These films show linear electro-optical effects because the permanent polarization can be aligned so that it has a component parallel to the applied field without changing the layer structure. Our analysis indicates that mainly two effects determine the layer tilt. On the one hand, the surface tension tends to minimise the layer tilt. On the other hand, the surface energy promotes the director to be normal to the boundary plates. Received 17 July 1998     

Synthesis and mesomorphism of 2,5-bis(3,4-bis(n-alkoxy)phenyl)thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole tetracatenar liquid crystals

A series of new symmetrical 2,5-bis(3,4-bis(n-alkoxy)phenyl)thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazoles (TTn) prepared via condensation of dithiooxamide with six different 3,4-di-n-alkoxybenzaldehydes were characterized by ¹H NMR, FTIR, UV-Vis, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Moreover, one compound lack of aliphatic chains, i.e., 2,5-diphenylthiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (TT) was synthesized and characterized. The investigated TTn compounds emitted blue light. The effect of length of n-alkoxy (i.e., OC _n H_{2 n +1}, n?=?8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18) peripheral groups on thermal and mesomorphic behavior was investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Variable heating and cooling rates were used to study the liquid-crystalline properties of TTn. All compounds exhibited liquid-crystalline properties which self-organize into one or two smectic mesophases (SmB and SmE).     

Quantum Macrostatistical Picture of Nonequilibrium Steady States

We apply our quantum macrostatistical treatment of irreversible processes to prove that, in nonequilibrium steady states, (a) the hydrodynamical observables execute a generalised Onsager–Machlup process and (b) the spatial correlations of these observables are generically of long range. The key assumptions behind these results are a nonequilibrium version of Onsager regression hypothesis, together with certain hypotheses of chaoticity and local equilibrium for hydrodynamical fluctuations.     

掺杂光子晶体光纤自发辐射与掺杂激活杂质的光增益透射谱研究

借助光子晶体中二能级原子的自发辐射理论证明缺陷态的局域场存在的必然性以及局域场基本性质,为研究光子晶体光纤掺杂自发辐射的内在规律提供了理论依据。且将自发辐射理论与数值模拟相结合,在缺陷介质中掺激活杂质时,研究了光子晶体光纤的掺杂局域场特征以及受激辐射增强和透射率大于1现象与光子带隙群速度异常和掺杂层复有效折射率成负的虚部之间的内在关系。由此说明光子晶体光纤的缺陷介质中掺入激活杂质时,光子禁带中能出现品质因子非常高的杂质态,具有很大的态密度,较强的受激辐射放大。