Date:
Wed, 05/06/202412:00-13:30
Location:
Danciger B Building, Seminar room
Lecturer: Prof. Jonathan Selinger, Kent State University
Abstract:
In the most common phase of liquid crystals, called the nematic phase, molecules are aligned up or down along some axis, so that the net electrostatic polarization is zero. Recent experiments have found a new class of liquid crystals, called ferroelectric nematic, in which molecules align predominantly in one direction along the axis, leading to a nonzero polarization. From the perspective of statistical mechanics, the ferroelectric nematic phase has two special features. First, it has flexoelectricity, meaning that the polarization induces a splay of the molecular orientation. Second, the energy includes an electrostatic interaction, which favors a domain structure. In this talk, we discuss the competition between those two effects to control the phase behavior.
Abstract:
In the most common phase of liquid crystals, called the nematic phase, molecules are aligned up or down along some axis, so that the net electrostatic polarization is zero. Recent experiments have found a new class of liquid crystals, called ferroelectric nematic, in which molecules align predominantly in one direction along the axis, leading to a nonzero polarization. From the perspective of statistical mechanics, the ferroelectric nematic phase has two special features. First, it has flexoelectricity, meaning that the polarization induces a splay of the molecular orientation. Second, the energy includes an electrostatic interaction, which favors a domain structure. In this talk, we discuss the competition between those two effects to control the phase behavior.