Hydrogen-bonded Silica Gels Dispersed in a Smectic Liquid Crystal: A Random Field XY System

S. Park; R. L. Leheny; R. J. Birgeneau; J. -L. Gallani; C. W. Garland; G. S. Iannacchione

doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.65.050703

Hydrogen-bonded Silica Gels Dispersed in a Smectic Liquid Crystal: A Random Field XY System

Soft Condensed Matter 2009-11-07 v1

Authors: S. Park , R. L. Leheny , R. J. Birgeneau , J. -L. Gallani , C. W. Garland , G. S. Iannacchione

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Abstract

The effect on the nematic to smectic-A transition in octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) due to dispersions of hydrogen-bonded silica (aerosil) particles is characterized with high-resolution x-ray scattering. The particles form weak gels in 8CB creating a quenched disorder that replaces the transition with the growth of short range smectic correlations. The correlations include thermal critical fluctuations that dominate at high temperatures and a second contribution that quantitatively matches the static fluctuations of a random field system and becomes important at low temperatures.

Keywords

random field XY model smectic phase transition hydrogen-bonded silica gels x-ray scattering short-range correlations

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@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0112073,
  title  = {Hydrogen-bonded Silica Gels Dispersed in a Smectic Liquid Crystal: A Random Field XY System},
  author = {S. Park and R. L. Leheny and R. J. Birgeneau and J. -L. Gallani and C. W. Garland and G. S. Iannacchione},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0112073},
  year   = {2009}
}

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10 pages, 4 postscript figures as separate files

Hydrogen-bonded Silica Gels Dispersed in a Smectic Liquid Crystal: A Random Field XY System

Abstract

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