Polydispersity Stabilizes Biaxial Nematic Liquid Crystals

Polydispersity stabilizes biaxial nematic liquid crystals.

Inspired by the observations of a remarkably stable biaxial nematic phase [van den Pol et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 258301 (2009)], we investigate the effect of size polydispersity on the phase behavior of a suspension of boardlike particles. By means of Onsager theory within the restricted orientation (Zwanzig) model we show that polydispersity induces a novel topology in the phase diagram, w...

Continuum Theory of Biaxial Nematic Liquid Crystals

Models for biaxial nematic liquid crystals

Coarsening dynamics of biaxial nematic liquid crystals.

We study the coarsening dynamics of two- and three-dimensional biaxial nematic liquid crystals, using Langevin dynamics. Unlike previous work, we use a model with no a priori relationship among the three elastic constants associated with director deformations. Biaxial nematics possess four topologically distinct classes of defects, three of which have half-integer charge, while the fourth, whic...

Symmetries and alignment of biaxial nematic liquid crystals.

The possible symmetries of the biaxial nematic phase are examined against the implications of the presently available experimental results. Contrary to the widespread notion that biaxial nematics have orthorhombic symmetry, our study shows that a monoclinic (C(2h)) symmetry is more likely to be the case for the recently observed phase biaxiality in thermotropic bent-core and calamitic-tetrapode...