Tricritical point induced by smectic ordering of a nematic gel |
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Authors: | Kushibe Yoshinari Matsuyama Akihiko |
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Institution: | Department of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Computer Science and System Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kawazu 680-4, Iizuka, Fukuoka 820-8502, Japan. |
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Abstract: | The authors study volume phase transitions of a nematic gel immersed in a liquid crystal (LC) solvent, which shows a second-order nematic-smectic A phase transition (NST). Combining Flory's elastic energy Principles of Polymer Chemistry (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1953)] for a swelling of the gel with the McMillan model Phys. Rev. A 4, 1238 (1971)] for smectic ordering, the authors calculate the equilibrium swelling of the gel and smectic order parameters as a function of temperature. The authors take into account an attractive interaction parameter c between the gel and LC solvents. On increasing the value of the coupling constant c, a second-order NST of the gel is changed to a first-order one and a continuous volume phase transition of the gel is changed to a discontinuous one. The authors find a tricritical point of the gel induced by smectic ordering. |
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