Elastic constants of a nematic liquid crystal: Quadrupole-quadrupole interaction in the ellipsoidal approximation

The elastic constants of a nematic liquid crystal are calculated by means of a pseudo-molecular method that considers the quadrupolar intermolecular interaction with a screening length governing the range of the forces. The bulk as well as the surface-like elastic constants are determined as functions of the eccentricity of the interaction volume of ellipsoidal shape. It is shown that the elastic constants become negative for some values of the eccentricity, and, therefore, that the screened quadrupolar interaction could be the source of instabilities in the nematic phase and should be taken into account to interpret threshold phenomena in these systems. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.