Tricritical point induced by smectic ordering of a nematic gel

Abstract

The authors study volume phase transitions of a nematic gel immersed in a liquid crystal (LC) solvent, which shows a second-order nematic-smectic A phase transition (NST). Combining Flory's elastic energy [Principles of Polymer Chemistry (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1953)] for a swelling of the gel with the McMillan model [Phys. Rev. A 4, 1238 (1971)] for smectic ordering, the authors calculate the equilibrium swelling of the gel and smectic order parameters as a function of temperature. The authors take into account an attractive interaction parameter c between the gel and LC solvents. On increasing the value of the coupling constant c, a second-order NST of the gel is changed to a first-order one and a continuous volume phase transition of the gel is changed to a discontinuous one. The authors find a tricritical point of the gel induced by smectic ordering.