Polarisation-driven magneto-optical and nonlinear-optical behaviour of a room-temperature ferroelectric nematic phase

TL;DR

This study investigates the unique polar and mechanical properties of a room-temperature ferroelectric nematic phase, revealing its resistance to splay deformation and potential for advanced optical applications.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the polar and mechanical behavior of ferroelectric nematic phases, especially their response to magnetic fields and splay rigidity.

Findings

$N_{F}$ is less susceptible to splay deformation than twist.

Strong splay rigidity is due to electrostatic self-interaction of polarization.

The ferroelectric nematic phase exhibits notable magneto-optical behavior.

Abstract

Nematics with a broken polar symmetry is one of the fascinating recent discoveries in the field of soft matter. High spontaneous polarisation and the fluidity of the ferroelectric nematic $N_{\mathrm{F}}$ phase make such materials attractive for future applications and interesting for fundamental research. Here we explore the polar and mechanical properties of a room-temperature ferroelectric nematic and its behaviour in a magnetic field. We show that $N_{\mathrm{F}}$ is much less susceptible to the splay deformation than to the twist. The strong splay rigidity can be attributed to the electrostatic self-interaction of the polarisation avoiding the polarisation splay.