Abstract / Description of output
A simple model is proposed for nematogenic molecules that favor perpendicular orientations as well as parallel ones. (Charged rods, for example, show this antagonistic tendency.) When a small disorienting field is applied along z, a low-density phase N- of nematic order parameter S-z<0 coexists with a dense biaxial nematic N-b. (At zero field, N- becomes isotropic and N-b uniaxial.) But at stronger fields, a new phase N+4, invariant under π/2 rotations around the field axis, appears in between N- and N-b. Prospects for finding the N+4 phase experimentally are briefly discussed.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 235701 |
Pages (from-to) | - |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Physical Review Letters |
Volume | 90 |
Issue number | 23 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 13 Jun 2003 |