https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2003-10144-1
Random anisotropy nematic model: Connection with experimental systems
1
Laboratory of Physics of Complex Systems, Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, Koroška 160, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia
2
Solid State Group, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
3
Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, P.O. Box MG-11, 76900, Bucharest, Romania
* e-mail: samo.kralj@uni-mb.si
We study theoretically the phase behavior of the continuum Random Anisotropy Nematic model. A domain-type pattern is assumed to appear in a distorted nematic liquid crystal (LC) phase. We map the model parameters to physical quantities characterizing LCs confined to Controlled-Pore Glasses and LC-aerosil dispersions. The domain size dependence on the disorder strength is obtained in accordance with the Imry-Ma prediction. The model estimates for temperature shifts of the paranematic-nematic phase transition and for the critical point, where this transition ceases to exist, are compared to the available experimental results.
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, and Springer-Verlag, 2004
