Elastic energy and string configurations in the chiral gauge theory of biaxial uniaxial nematic phase transitions

TL;DR

This paper investigates the role of chiral gauge fields and topological defects in biaxial-uniaxial nematic phase transitions of liquid crystals, linking defect evolution with elastic and surface energies.

Contribution

It introduces a chiral gauge field framework within Landau-de Gennes theory to explain topologically driven phase transformations in biaxial nematics.

Findings

Topological defect evolution is linked to phase transition mechanisms.

Chiral gauge fields provide a new perspective on nematic phase transformations.

Surface anchoring energy influences defect configurations during transitions.

Abstract

In nematic liquid crystals (NLCs), topological defects of a chiral origin play a role in phase transitions and lead to phase configurations of nontrivial topology, like those in neutron stars and helium in the A-phase. In the biaxial-uniaxial phase transition, the deformation of the orbit, as the order parameter degeneracy of the NLC, connects together an evolution of topological defects, the surface anchoring energy and elastic Frank modui. In this work we estimate the chiral gauge field presentation of the constrained Ladnau-de Gennes theory of the biaxial nematics, which have to explain their topologically dependent phase transformation, using the description of the transformation of disclinations in the biaxial nematic phase into the surface bojooms of a uniaxial NLC.