Biaxial surface order dynamics in calamitic nematics |
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Authors: | G. Lombardo A. Amoddeo R. Hamdi H. Ayeb R. Barberi |
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Affiliation: | CNR-IPCF UOS di Cosenza, c/o University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy. |
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Abstract: | Thermotropic nematic materials relax strong distortions by lowering the nematic order: the uniaxial symmetry is broken and is locally replaced by biaxial domains. We investigated the dynamics of the nematic order near a boundary surface of an asymmetric π-cell submitted to an external electric field, close to the electric order reconstruction threshold. An unexpected phenomenon is observed close, but below the threshold: the biaxial order spreads on the surface inducing a consequent bulk topological behaviour equivalent to the splay-bend fast transition allowed by order reconstruction at higher voltage. |
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