KINETICS OF PHASE-TRANSITION IN AN ANTICLINIC LIQUID-CRYSTAL INDUCED BY A UNIFORM TEMPERATURE-FIELD - GROWTH IN ONE-DIMENSION

It is experimentally demonstrated that a transition from a synclinic t o an anticlinic liquid crystal phase occurs via stable domain wall pro pagation after quenching in a uniform temperature field. Such a one-di mensional growth may be explained in terms of a nonlinear diffusion eq uation. The experiment provides the first example of free, one-dimensi onal growth in a system subjected to a pure and uniform temperature fi eld.