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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Novel Techniques for Observing Structural Dynamics of Photoresponsive Liquid Crystals
Published on: May 29, 2018
A phase-field-crystal model for liquid crystals
1Institut für Theoretische Physik II, Weiche Materie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Abstract:
On the basis of static and dynamical density functional theory, a phase-field-crystal model is derived which involves both the translational density and the orientational degree of ordering as well as a local director field. The model exhibits stable isotropic, nematic, smectic A, columnar, plastic-crystalline and orientationally ordered crystalline phases. As far as the dynamics is concerned, the translational density is a conserved order parameter while the orientational ordering is non-conserved. The derived phase-field-crystal model can serve for use in efficient numerical investigations of various nonequilibrium situations in liquid crystals.
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