Dynamic Magneto-optic Coupling in a Ferromagnetic Nematic Liquid Crystal
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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Measuring Magnetically-Tuned Ferroelectric Polarization in Liquid Crystals
Published on: August 15, 2018
Tilen Potisk1,2, Daniel Svenšek1, Helmut R Brand2
1Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Abstract:
Hydrodynamics of complex fluids with multiple order parameters is governed by a set of dynamic equations with many material constants, of which only some are easily measurable. We present a unique example of a dynamic magneto-optic coupling in a ferromagnetic nematic liquid, in which long-range orientational order of liquid crystalline molecules is accompanied by long-range magnetic order of magnetic nanoplatelets. We investigate the dynamics of the magneto-optic response experimentally and theoretically and find out that it is significantly affected by the dissipative dynamic cross-coupling between the nematic and magnetic order parameters. The cross-coupling coefficient determined by fitting the experimental results with a macroscopic theory is of the same order of magnitude as the dissipative coefficient (rotational viscosity) that governs the reorientation of pure liquid crystals.
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