Twist-bend nematic liquid crystals in high magnetic fields

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2014 Jun;89(6):060501. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.89.060501. Epub 2014 Jun 6.

Abstract

We present magneto-optic measurements on two materials that form the recently discovered twist-bend nematic (N_{tb}) phase. This intriguing state of matter represents a fluid phase that is orientationally anisotropic in three directions and also exhibits translational order with periodicity several times larger than the molecular size. N_{tb} materials may also spontaneously form a visible, macroscopic stripe texture. We show that the optical stripe texture can be persistently inhibited by a magnetic field, and a 25T external magnetic field depresses the N-N_{tb} phase transition temperature by almost 1{∘}C. We propose a quantitative mechanism to account for this shift and suggest a Helfrich-Hurault-type mechanism for the optical stripe formation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Liquid Crystals / chemistry*
  • Magnetic Fields*
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Transition Temperature