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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
Switching and nonswitching phases of photomechanical molecules in dissipative environments
Chang-Qin Wu1, Jian-Xin Li, Dung-Hai Lee
1Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Abstract:
We study the effects of dissipation on photoisomerization (PI). The result suggests the existence of two types of environment depending on whether it entangles with the molecule. With entanglement there is a quantum phase transition between a state where PI persists, to a state where PI is quenched by the environment. Without entanglement, the environment only quantitatively modifies the PI behavior. We discuss the relevance of our results to a recent STM experiment, and predict the signature of the quantum phase transition in optical absorption spectra.
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