Orientational Instability and Hysteresis Phenomena in a Ferronematic Liquid Crystal in a Magnetic Field

Abstract

A magnetic-field-induced orientational structure in a ferronematic (FN) liquid crystal (LC) layer is studied within the continuum theory. The rotation angles of the director and the magnetization and the concentration of magnetic impurity corresponding to a supertwisted orientational structure of the suspension are calculated. It is shown that the deviation angle of the director from the direction of the external field has the hysteresis region in which the orientational structure of the FN changes stepwise from a state with a positive twist of the director to a state with a negative twist. A value of the magnetic field strength is found above which orientational bistability regions arise. It is shown that orientational instability under the rotation of the field most clearly manifests itself in FNs with strong anchoring of particles to the LC matrix. It is established that the effect of magnetic segregation responsible for the redistribution of magnetic particles in the layer leads to the expansion of the hysteresis region and to a decrease in the field at which orientational instability arises. It is shown that, in FNs with soft anchoring between magnetic and LC subsystems, there exist several response modes to a quasistatic rotation of the magnetic field.