FLUCTUATIONS IN CONFINED LIQUID-CRYSTALS ABOVE NEMATIC-ISOTROPIC PHASE-TRANSITION TEMPERATURE

Authors
ZIHERL P ZUMER S
Citation
P. Ziherl et S. Zumer, FLUCTUATIONS IN CONFINED LIQUID-CRYSTALS ABOVE NEMATIC-ISOTROPIC PHASE-TRANSITION TEMPERATURE, Physical review letters, 78(4), 1997, pp. 682-685
Citations number
22
Categorie Soggetti
Physics
Journal title
Physical review letters → ACNP
ISSN journal
00319007
Volume
78
Issue
4
Year of publication
1997
Pages
682 - 685
Database
ISI
SICI code
0031-9007(1997)78:4<682:FICLAN>2.0.ZU;2-C
Abstract
The pretransitional fluctuations of tensor order parameter in confined liquid crystals an studied within Landau-de Gennes theory. We show th at in the case of homeotropic anchoring and complete wetting of the su bstrate by the nematic phase, the spectrum of excitations in the paran ematic phase is characterized by a soft normal mode, which is associat ed with fluctuations of thickness of the substrate-aligned boundary la yer, and slow director fluctuations in this ordered region.