Molecular-field-theory approach to the Landau theory of liquid crystals: Uniaxial and biaxial nematics

Abstract

Nematic liquid crystal phase diagrams in temperature-biaxiality space are usually complex. We construct a Landau theory based on the analogous molecular-field theory for orthorhombic biaxial nematic fluids. A formal procedure yields coefficients (some of which, unusually, can be tensorial) in this Landau expansion, correctly predicts the complete set of invariants formed from the ordering tensors, and avoids ad hoc parametrization of the molecular biaxiality. By regularizing the Landau expansion to avoid unwanted order parameter divergences at low temperatures, we predict phase behavior over the whole range of biaxiality. The resulting phase diagrams have the same topology as those of molecular-field theory.