Q-tensor model of twist-bend and splay nematic phases

Critical Splay-Bend Deformation of Nematic Films

I n t h i n nemat ic f i lms the d i rec tor field n may on ly depend on z, the n o r m a l to the film p lane. There are two stable conf igurat ions w i t h less than a l l three types of de fo rma t ion present, the pure tw is t and the pure splay-bend. Fo r the pure tw is t under the add i t i ona l in f luence of an ex te rna l field n o r m a l to the tw is t p lane the range of s tab i l ...

Splay bend elasticity of a bent-core nematic liquid crystal.

We measured the splay (K11) and bend (K33) elastic constants in the nematic phase of a bent-core liquid crystal. In the vicinity of the nematic-isotropic transition temperature K33 is proportional to the square of the order parameter. In the nematic range K11 increases monotonically with decreasing temperature, whereas K33 is practically independent of temperature and is smaller than K11 . K33 ...

Nematic twist-bend phase with nanoscale modulation of molecular orientation

A state of matter in which molecules show a long-range orientational order and no positional order is called a nematic liquid crystal. The best known and most widely used (for example, in modern displays) is the uniaxial nematic, with the rod-like molecules aligned along a single axis, called the director. When the molecules are chiral, the director twists in space, drawing a right-angle helico...

Equilibrium shapes of a twist-bend nematic drop

These notes supplement our paper Interfacial and morphological features of a twist-bend nematic drop, producing a number of analytical details of the mathematical model employed there to interpret the experimental observations of equilibrium shapes of a twist-bend nematic drop in two space dimensions. For the sake of continuity and completeness, some figures and equations are also reproduced here.

Fluctuation modes of a twist-bend nematic liquid crystal