Orientation instability of the layer of a nematic liquid crystal

Abstract

The origin of periodic structures in a layer of a lyotropic nematic liquid crystal observed in the director (vector, describing the anisotropic properties of the medium) reorientation experiment is studied. Such perturbations with the wavevector perpendicular to the initial orientation can develop in a liquid crystal layer in the unstable equilibrium state when the director is parallel to the walls under the condition that its orthogonality to the boundary corresponds to the minimum anchoring energy. It is shown that the linear dependence of the domain period on the layer thickness observed experimentally can be theoretically described when the Frank orientation elasticity energy is considered in the most general form taking the divergence terms into account and the anchoring energy of orientation is small as compared with the bulk energy. A relation between the coefficient of the divergence terms (saddlesplay elastic constant) and two other coefficients in the Frank energy is obtained.