Ring defects in a strongly confined chiral liquid crystal

We find numerically that a regular array of isolated ring defects can exist as a stable state in a highly chiral liquid crystal confined in a thin cell imposing fixed planar anchoring at the parallel confining surfaces. This peculiar defect structure can be stable when the cell thickness d is around 3/4 of the helical pitch p. A cell of thickness 3p/4 with parallel surface anchoring is incompatible with helical alignment that favors d=mp/2 (with m being an integer). Formation of ring defects can thus be regarded as a result of frustrations between the helical alignment with a specific pitch and the confining surfaces that prevent it.     

Properly discontinuous isometric group actions on inhomogeneous Lorentzian manifolds

If a homogeneous space $G/H$ is acted properly discontinuously upon by a subgroup $\varGamma $ of $G$ via the left action, the quotient space $\varGamma \backslash G/H$ is called a Clifford–Klein form. In Calabi and Markus (Ann Math (2) 75: 63–76, 1962) proved that there is no infinite subgroup of the Lorentz group $O(n+1,\,1)$ whose left action on the de Sitter space $O(n+1,\,1)/O(n,\,1)$ is properly discontinuous. It follows that a compact Clifford–Klein form of the de Sitter space never exists. In the present paper, we provide a new extension of the theorem of E. Calabi and L. Markus to a certain class of Lorentzian manifolds that are not necessarily homogeneous by using the techniques of differential geometry.     

An efficient procedure for preparation of 2-monoalkyl or 2-monoaryl-3-ethoxycyclobutanones

Optimized reaction conditions for the preparation of various 2-monosubstituted 3-ethoxycyclobutanones are described. 2-Monoalkyl 3-ethoxycyclobutanones were efficiently prepared by the reaction of the corresponding carboxylic acid chlorides and an excess amount of ethyl vinyl ether in the presence of diisopropylethylamine at 90 °C in a sealed tube. 2-Monoaryl 3-ethoxycyclobutanones were prepared by using 2,6-lutidine as a base in the above-mentioned procedure.     

The IR modulator utilizing light scattering effect with ferroelectric liquid crystal for gas analysis

Experimental infrared modulator elements have been fabricated utilizing the transient light scattering effect of ferroelectric liquid crystal with asymmetric waveform voltage drive. The new elements perform 80% modulation degrees at the 632.8nm. We have also achieved 30% modulation degrees in the 4 to 5µ m region where the strongest CO₂ absorption bands exist. A new type of analyzer which monitors ambient air quality has been developed. This analyzer uses non-dispersive infrared absorption method and composes of a double-beam, a single detector and a pair of liquid crystal light modulator as the IR chopper. The detection has achieved 10ppm noise equivalent concentration.     

Phase structure change and ER effect in liquid crystalline polymer/dimethylsiloxane blends

The mechanism of the electrorheological (ER) effect in two types of liquid crystalline polymer (LCP)/dimethylsiloxane (DMS) blends was investigated by rheological measurements and by structure observation under electric field and shear flow. The results show that the phase structures of these immiscible blends can be categorized into slipping (low viscosity) and non-slipping (high viscosity) states. In the non-slipping state, higher viscosity LCP domains connect the electrodes. In the slipping state, on the other hand, LCP domains do not connect the electrodes and the shear is mainly confined in the lower viscosity DMS domains. The ER effect (electrically induced viscosity increase) originates from the electrically induced slipping to non-slipping transition. In one of the blends, the ER effect occurs only at high shear rate, since this blend is in non-slipping state even under no field if the shear rate is low. Received: 29 April 1997 Accepted: 3 November 1997     

Unusually large magnetic anisotropy in a CuO-based semiconductor Cu5V2O10

A CuO-based material Cu(5)V(2)O(10) was successfully grown in a closed crucible using Sr(OH)(2)·8H(2)O as flux. The structure of Cu(5)V(2)O(10) can be viewed as being composed of two types of zigzag Cu-O chains running along the b- and c-axes, which shows a two-dimensional crosslike framework with 12-column square tunnels along the a-axis. Magnetic measurements show that Cu(5)V(2)O(10) exhibits unexpected large magnetic anisotropy, which is the first time magnetic anisotropy energy of ～10(7) erg/cm(3) in the CuO-based materials has been observed. The origins of large anisotropy are suggested to arise from strong anisotropic exchanges due to the particular bonding geometry and the Jahn-Teller distortion of Cu(2+) ions. Further, the band structure investigated by the GGA+U method suggests that Cu(5)V(2)O(10) is a semiconductor.