2A04 A Ginzburg-Landau mean-field model describing phase transitions in liquid crystals: Isotropic-Nematic-Smectic A-Smectic C

Abstract

We propose a simple Ginzburg-Landau model for phase transition dynamics in liquid crystals. This model is capable to reproduce phase transitions among isotropic, nematic, smectic A and smectic C phases with controlling only a few parameters. On the basis of this model, we also demonstrate numerical simulations. We observed that a polydomain pattern is formed in an early stage of isotropic-smectic A transition and its characteristic length grows in time as l ∝ t^0.25, for example. On the other hand, phase transition into smectic C shows a zigzag pattern, which coarsens in time more slowly.