Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026

Measuring Magnetically-Tuned Ferroelectric Polarization in Liquid Crystals
Published on: August 15, 2018
Relativistic Lagrangian model of a nematic liquid crystal interacting with an electromagnetic field
Yuri N Obukhov1, Tomás Ramos, Guillermo F Rubilar
1Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Cologne, 50923 Köln, Germany. yo@thp.uni-koeln.de
Abstract:
We develop a relativistic variational model for a nematic liquid crystal interacting with an electromagnetic field. The constitutive relation for a general anisotropic uniaxial diamagnetic and dielectric medium is analyzed. We discuss light wave propagation in this moving uniaxial medium, for which the corresponding optical metrics are identified explicitly. A Lagrangian for the coupled system of a nematic liquid crystal and the electromagnetic field is constructed, from which a complete set of equations of motion for the system is derived. The canonical energy-momentum and spin tensors are systematically obtained. We compare our results with those within the nonrelativistic models. As an application of our general formalism, we discuss the so-called Abraham-Minkowski controversy on the momentum of light in a medium.
Related Concept Videos
The Fluid Mosaic Model
Fluid Mosaic Model
Plane Electromagnetic Waves I
The EM field is assumed to be a...
Motion Of A Charged Particle In A Magnetic Field
The Electrical Double Layer
Magnetic Fields
A magnetic field is defined by the force that a charged particle experiences...

