Journal
PHYSICAL REVIEW E
Volume 81, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
AMER PHYSICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.81.031704
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation [DMR-0605889]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We develop a lattice model for the splay flexoelectric effect in nematic liquid crystals. In this model, each lattice site has a spin representing the local molecular orientation, and the interaction between neighboring spins represents pear-shaped molecules with shape polarity. We perform Monte Carlo simulations and mean-field calculations to find the behavior as a function of interaction parameters, temperature, and applied electric field. The resulting phase diagram has three phases: isotropic, nematic, and polar. In the nematic phase, there is a large splay flexoelectric effect, which diverges as the system approaches the transition to the polar phase. These results show that flexoelectricity can be a statistical phenomenon associated with the onset of polar order.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available