Order Electricity and Surface Orientation in Nematic Liquid Crystals

G. Barbero; I. Dozov; J. F. Palierne; G. Durand

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.56.2056

Order Electricity and Surface Orientation in Nematic Liquid Crystals

G. Barbero, I. Dozov, J. F. Palierne, and G. Durand

Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 2056 – Published 12 May 1986

Abstract

A nematic liquid crystal should present an order electric polarization associated with the gradient of order parameter, in addition to the flexoelectric polarization associated with the gradient of orientation. Using thermodynamical arguments, we show that the order-electricity coefficients are of the same order as the flexoelectric ones. The dielectric energy resulting from the order polarization can explain the unsolved problem of the spontaneous titled orientation at the nematic-isotropic (or air) interfaces. The core of disclination lines can also present electric multipoles.

Received 4 March 1986

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.56.2056

Authors & Affiliations

G. Barbero^*, I. Dozov^†, J. F. Palierne, and G. Durand

Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université de Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay Cédex, France

^*Also at Dipartimento di Fisica, Politechnico, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy, and Gruppo Nazionale di Struttura della Materia, Unità di Cosenza, Università della Calabria, Arcaracata di Rende, Italy.
^†Permanent address: Institute of Solid State Physics, Bvd. Lenin 72, Sofia, Bulgaria.