Liquids with Chiral Bond Order

TL;DR

This paper introduces new chiral liquid crystal phases with nematic and hexatic order, including a conical phase similar to cholesteric, and explores defect structures, fluctuations, and analogies with smectic liquid crystals.

Contribution

It presents novel phases of chiral liquid crystals, analyzes defect structures and fluctuations, and draws analogies with smectic phases, expanding understanding of chiral liquid behavior.

Findings

Identification of a conical phase similar to cholesteric

Discussion of defect structures related to bond order

Proposal of a defect-riddled ground state analogous to twist grain boundaries

Abstract

I describe new phases of a chiral liquid crystal with nematic and hexatic order. I find a conical phase, similar to that of a cholesteric in an applied magnetic field for Frank elastic constants $K_2>K_3$. I discuss the role of fluctuations in the context of this phase and the possibility of satisfying the inequality for sufficiently long polymers. In addition I discuss the topological constraint relating defects in the bond order field to textures of the nematic and elucidate its physical meaning. Finally I discuss the analogy between smectic liquid crystals and chiral hexatics and propose a defect-riddled ground state, akin to the Renn-Lubensky twist grain boundary phase of chiral smectics.