Modulated nematic structures and chiral symmetry breaking in 2D |
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Authors: | Karol Trojanowski Lech Longa |
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Institution: | M. Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland |
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Abstract: | ABSTRACTWe have studied the properties of biaxial particles interacting via an anisotropic pair potential, involving second-rank quadrupolar and third-rank octupolar coupling terms, using Monte Carlo simulation. The particles occupy the sites of a 2D square lattice and the interactions are restricted to nearest neighbours. The system exhibits spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking from an isotropic phase to a chiral modulated nematic phase, composed of ambidextrous chiral domains. When twofold axes of quadrupolar and octupolar tensors coincide this modulated phase appears to be the ambidextrous cholesteric phase with pitch comparable to a few lattice spacings. The associated phase transition is first order. |
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Keywords: | Modulated liquid crystal structures chiral symmetry breaking Monte Carlo simulations twist-bend nematic cholesteric phase |
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