Boundary Effects in Chiral Polymer Hexatics

TL;DR

This paper explores how boundary effects can induce a three-dimensional N+6 phase in chiral polymer hexatics, potentially explaining recent experimental observations of polymer hexatic phases.

Contribution

It demonstrates that boundary effects can lock chiral hexatic phases into an N+6 phase, offering a new interpretation of polymer hexatic behavior.

Findings

Boundary effects can induce a three-dimensional N+6 phase in chiral hexatics.

Numerical estimates suggest polymer hexatic may be this boundary-locked phase.

The study provides a new perspective on the structure of polymer hexatics.

Abstract

Boundary effects in liquid-crystalline phases can be large due to long-ranged orientational correlations. We show that the chiral hexatic phase can be locked into an apparent three-dimensional N+6 phase via such effects. Simple numerical estimates suggest that the recently discovered "polymer hexatic" may actually be this locked phase.