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Smectic liquid crystals in an anisotropic random environment.

Dennis Liang1, Robert L Leheny

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|May 16, 2007
PubMed
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Confined liquid crystals (8CB) in aerosil gels exhibit an XY Bragg glass phase, showing algebraic decay of correlations. Coupling to the gel suppresses critical behavior in the smectic phase.

Area of Science:

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Materials Science
  • Soft Matter Physics

Background:

  • Liquid crystals exhibit diverse phases, including nematic and smectic orders.
  • Confining liquid crystals in porous media can alter their phase behavior.
  • Anisotropic disorder is predicted to induce novel topological phases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the phase behavior of octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) liquid crystal confined in aligned aerosil gels.
  • Characterize the impact of anisotropic quenched disorder on smectic liquid crystal phases.
  • Explore the formation and properties of topological phases in confined systems.

Main Methods:

  • High-resolution x-ray scattering experiments.
  • Utilized aligned colloidal aerosil gels for confinement.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analyzed scattering intensity to probe liquid crystal correlations and phase transitions.

    • Main Results:

    • Observed an XY Bragg glass phase at low aerosil densities, characterized by algebraic decay of smectic correlations.
    • The observed power-law exponent aligns with theoretical predictions for the XY Bragg glass.
    • Deviations from the XY Bragg glass were noted at higher aerosil densities.
    • Pretransitional fluctuations near the nematic-smectic transition showed quasicritical behavior.
    • Effective critical exponents differed from pure 8CB, indicating suppression of critical behavior.

    Conclusions:

    • Aligned aerosil gels induce orientational and positional disorder, influencing liquid crystal phases.
    • The XY Bragg glass phase is a plausible state for 8CB in anisotropic environments.
    • Coupling between nematic order and the gel network significantly modifies smectic critical phenomena.