Reentrant transition enthalpies of liquid crystals: The frustrated spin-gas model and experiments

J. O. Indekeu; A. Nihat Berker; C. Chiang; C. W. Garland

doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.35.1371

Reentrant transition enthalpies of liquid crystals: The frustrated spin-gas model and experiments

J. O. Indekeu, A. Nihat Berker, C. Chiang, and C. W. Garland

Phys. Rev. A 35, 1371 – Published 1 February 1987

Abstract

Specific-heat–versus–temperature curves are calculated across the reentrant (N- $A_{d}$ -N- $A_{1}$ ) phase diagram of liquid crystals, using the microscopic ‘‘spin-gas’’ model. The transition enthalpies are found to be much weaker on each side of the partial bilayer smectic phase ( $A_{d}$ ) than at the onset of the monolayer smectic phase ( $A_{1}$ ). This qualitative difference, which agrees with experimental results obtained on octyloxybenzoyloxycyanostilbene (T8), is readily explained by the dipolar frustration reentrance mechanism of our model.

Received 12 June 1986

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.35.1371

Authors & Affiliations

J. O. Indekeu

Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 and Laboratorium voor Technische Natucerkunde, Technische Universiteit Delft, Lorentzweg 1, NL-2628? Delft, The Netherlands

A. Nihat Berker