Helical Nanofilaments and the High Chirality Limit of Smectics-A

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new chiral smectic structure based on a lattice of chiral bundles, providing insights into the complex three-dimensional order and frustration in liquid crystalline systems with high chirality.

Contribution

It proposes a novel model of the helical nanofilament (B4) phase in bent core smectics, advancing understanding of chiral smectic phases.

Findings

Introduction of a lattice of chiral bundles as a new smectic structure

Explanation of mesophase frustration in highly chiral liquid crystals

Modeling of the B4 phase in bent core smectics

Abstract

Liquid crystalline systems exhibiting both macroscopic chirality and smectic order experience frustration resulting in mesophases possessing complex three-dimensional order. In the twist-grain-boundary phase, defect lattices mediate the propagation of twist throughout the system. We propose a new chiral smectic structure composed of a lattice of chiral bundles as a model of the helical nanofilament (B4) phase of bent core smectics.