Physics – Condensed Matter – Soft Condensed Matter
Scientific paper
1999-06-07
Phys. Rev. E 60, 5584 (1999)
Physics
Condensed Matter
Soft Condensed Matter
10 pages, including 10 postscript figures, uses REVTeX 3.0 and epsf.sty
Scientific paper
10.1103/PhysRevE.60.5584
Using Monte Carlo simulation methods, we explore the role of molecular shape in the phase behavior of liquid crystals and the electroclinic effect. We study a "bent-rod" mesogen shaped like the letter Z, composed of seven soft spheres bonded rigidly together with no intra-molecular degrees of freedom. For strongly angled molecules, we find that steric repulsion alone provides the driving force for a smectic-C phase, even without intermolecular dipole-dipole interactions. For weakly angled (nearly rod-like) molecules, we find a stable smectic-A (SmA) phase and a strong electroclinic effect with a saturation tilt angle of about 19 degrees. In the SmA phase we find evidence of vortex-like point defects. We also observe a field-induced nematic-smectic phase transition.
Ratna Banahalli R.
Selinger Jonathan V.
Selinger Robin L. B.
Shashidhar R.
Xu Jiajun
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