Freedericksz transition and anchoring effects in the oblique configuration of a nematic liquid crystal

1979 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 305-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Motooka ◽  
A. Fukuhara ◽  
K. Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Nematic Liquid Crystal ◽  
Freedericksz Transition ◽  
Anchoring Effects ◽  
Fréedericksz Transition

scholarly journals Bifurcation analysis of the twist-Fréedericksz transition in a nematic liquid-crystal cell with pre-twist boundary conditions

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
FERNANDO P. DA COSTA ◽  
EUGENE C. GARTLAND ◽  
MICHAEL GRINFELD ◽  
JOÃO T. PINTO
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Nematic Liquid Crystal ◽  
Pitchfork Bifurcation ◽  
Critical Magnetic Field ◽  
Twist Boundary ◽  
Freedericksz Transition ◽  
Diamagnetic Anisotropy ◽  
Fréedericksz Transition

Motivated by a recent investigation of Millar and McKay [Director orientation of a twisted nematic under the influence of an in-plane magnetic field. Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst435, 277/[937]–286/[946] (2005)], we study the magnetic field twist-Fréedericksz transition for a nematic liquid crystal of positive diamagnetic anisotropy with strong anchoring and pre-twist boundary conditions. Despite the pre-twist, the system still possesses ℤ2 symmetry and a symmetry-breaking pitchfork bifurcation, which occurs at a critical magnetic-field strength that, as we prove, is above the threshold for the classical twist-Fréedericksz transition (which has no pre-twist). It was observed numerically by Millar and McKay that this instability occurs precisely at the point at which the ground-state solution loses its monotonicity (with respect to the position coordinate across the cell gap). We explain this surprising observation using a rigorous phase-space analysis.

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