a Mode 1 Light Scattering Study of the Smectic a Phase Near the NA Transition: Critical Behavior of the Layer Dilation Elastic Coefficient.
Abstract
A mode 1 light scattering study of the smectic A near the NA transition is done to observe the critical behavior of the layer dilation elastic coefficient in a monolayer material. A material with a nematic range that is larger than other materials studied to date is used to reduce the coupling of the nematic and smectic order parameters. It is thought that this coupling prevents one from observing the criticality of the NA transition for materials with narrow nematic ranges resulting in the measurement of a crossover exponent between critical and tricritical behavior. The theoretical prediction of the exponent for the layer dilation elastic coefficient is 2/3 while the experimentally measured value is about 1/3. It is hoped that a study of this new material will shed some light on the true value of the exponent.
- Publication:
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Ph.D. Thesis
- Pub Date:
- September 1987
- Bibcode:
- 1987PhDT.......107L
- Keywords:
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- Physics: Condensed Matter