Extension of the Hamaneh - Taylor model using the macroscopic polarization for the description of chiral smectic liquid crystals

TL;DR

This paper extends the Hamaneh-Taylor phenomenological model for chiral smectic liquid crystals by incorporating macroscopic polarization, aiming to better describe their complex phase behaviors.

Contribution

It introduces a novel extension of the existing model that includes macroscopic polarization effects to improve phase description accuracy.

Findings

Enhanced model captures ferroelectric, antiferroelectric, and ferrielectric phases.

Better agreement with experimental phase sequences.

Provides a framework for future theoretical and experimental studies.

Abstract

Chiral smectic liquid crystals exhibit a series of phases, including ferroelectric, antiferroelectric and ferrielectric commensurate structures as well as an incommensurate SmCalpha phase. We carried out an extension of the phenomenological model, recently presented by M. B. Hamaneh and P. L. Taylor, based upon the distorted clock model.