Phase transition and defects in a thin nematic film.

Abstract

We derive a set of general equations of the Landau-Ginzburg type describing the spatiotemporal evolutions of the tensorial order parameter of the nematic phase. We study numerically, for a particular case (thin nematic film), the equilibrium points and the dynamical behavior (pattern formation, nucleation and growth processes, and defects) of the isotropic-anisotropic phase transition. We discuss the biaxial zones, which are located at the core of the defects and at the interfaces of the nucleating domains, and the shape of these nuclei. (c) 1995 The American Physical Society