Actions for Generalized liquid crystals [electronic resource] : Giant fluctuations and the vestigial chiral order of <math display='inline'><mi>I<

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Generalized liquid crystals [electronic resource] : Giant fluctuations and the vestigial chiral order of <math display='inline'><mi>I</mi></math> , <math display='inline'><mi>O</mi></math> , and <math display='inline'><mi>T</mi></math> matter

Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Basic Energy Sciences, 2016.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Physical Description
Article numbers 041,025 : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy. Office of Basic Energy Sciences, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
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Summary
Here, the physics of nematic liquid crystals has been the subject of intensive research since the late 19th century. However, the focus of this pursuit has been centered around uniaxial and biaxial nematics associated with constituents bearing a D∞h or D2h symmetry, respectively. In view of general symmetries, however, these are singularly special since nematic order can in principle involve any point-group symmetry. Given the progress in tailoring nanoparticles with particular shapes and interactions, this vast family of “generalized nematics” might become accessible in the laboratory. Little is known because the order parameter theories associated with the highly symmetric point groups are remarkably complicated, involving tensor order parameters of high rank. Here, we show that the generic features of the statistical physics of such systems can be studied in a highly flexible and efficient fashion using a mathematical tool borrowed from high-energy physics: discrete non-Abelian gauge theory. Explicitly, we construct a family of lattice gauge models encapsulating nematic ordering of general three-dimensional point-group symmetries. We find that the most symmetrical generalized nematics are subjected to thermal fluctuations of unprecedented severity. As a result, novel forms of fluctuation phenomena become possible. In particular, we demonstrate that a vestigial phase carrying no more than chiral order becomes ubiquitous departing from high point-group symmetry chiral building blocks, such as I, O, and T symmetric matter.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:1348937
Subject(s)
Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
10/31/2016.
Physical Review. X 6 4 ISSN 2160-3308; PRXHAE AM
Ke Liu; Jaakko Nissinen; Robert -Jan Slager; Kai Wu; Jan Zaanen.
Funding Information
AC02-76SF00515
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