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Title: Generalized Liquid Crystals: Giant Fluctuations and the Vestigial Chiral Order of I , O , and T Matter

Abstract

Here, the physics of nematic liquid crystals has been the subject of intensive research since the late 19th century. However, the focus of this pursuit has been centered around uniaxial and biaxial nematics associated with constituents bearing a D∞h or D2h symmetry, respectively. In view of general symmetries, however, these are singularly special since nematic order can in principle involve any point-group symmetry. Given the progress in tailoring nanoparticles with particular shapes and interactions, this vast family of “generalized nematics” might become accessible in the laboratory. Little is known because the order parameter theories associated with the highly symmetric point groups are remarkably complicated, involving tensor order parameters of high rank. Here, we show that the generic features of the statistical physics of such systems can be studied in a highly flexible and efficient fashion using a mathematical tool borrowed from high-energy physics: discrete non-Abelian gauge theory. Explicitly, we construct a family of lattice gauge models encapsulating nematic ordering of general three-dimensional point-group symmetries. We find that the most symmetrical generalized nematics are subjected to thermal fluctuations of unprecedented severity. As a result, novel forms of fluctuation phenomena become possible. In particular, we demonstrate that a vestigial phase carrying nomore » more than chiral order becomes ubiquitous departing from high point-group symmetry chiral building blocks, such as I, O, and T symmetric matter.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1330482
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1348937
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-76SF00515
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
Physical Review. X
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Physical Review. X Journal Volume: 6 Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 2160-3308
Publisher:
American Physical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Citation Formats

Liu, Ke, Nissinen, Jaakko, Slager, Robert-Jan, Wu, Kai, and Zaanen, Jan. Generalized Liquid Crystals: Giant Fluctuations and the Vestigial Chiral Order of I , O , and T Matter. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.6.041025.
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Liu, Ke, Nissinen, Jaakko, Slager, Robert-Jan, Wu, Kai, & Zaanen, Jan. Generalized Liquid Crystals: Giant Fluctuations and the Vestigial Chiral Order of I , O , and T Matter. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.041025
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Liu, Ke, Nissinen, Jaakko, Slager, Robert-Jan, Wu, Kai, and Zaanen, Jan. Mon . "Generalized Liquid Crystals: Giant Fluctuations and the Vestigial Chiral Order of I , O , and T Matter". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.041025.
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@article{osti_1330482,
title = {Generalized Liquid Crystals: Giant Fluctuations and the Vestigial Chiral Order of I , O , and T Matter},
author = {Liu, Ke and Nissinen, Jaakko and Slager, Robert-Jan and Wu, Kai and Zaanen, Jan},
abstractNote = {Here, the physics of nematic liquid crystals has been the subject of intensive research since the late 19th century. However, the focus of this pursuit has been centered around uniaxial and biaxial nematics associated with constituents bearing a D∞h or D2h symmetry, respectively. In view of general symmetries, however, these are singularly special since nematic order can in principle involve any point-group symmetry. Given the progress in tailoring nanoparticles with particular shapes and interactions, this vast family of “generalized nematics” might become accessible in the laboratory. Little is known because the order parameter theories associated with the highly symmetric point groups are remarkably complicated, involving tensor order parameters of high rank. Here, we show that the generic features of the statistical physics of such systems can be studied in a highly flexible and efficient fashion using a mathematical tool borrowed from high-energy physics: discrete non-Abelian gauge theory. Explicitly, we construct a family of lattice gauge models encapsulating nematic ordering of general three-dimensional point-group symmetries. We find that the most symmetrical generalized nematics are subjected to thermal fluctuations of unprecedented severity. As a result, novel forms of fluctuation phenomena become possible. In particular, we demonstrate that a vestigial phase carrying no more than chiral order becomes ubiquitous departing from high point-group symmetry chiral building blocks, such as I, O, and T symmetric matter.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevX.6.041025},
journal = {Physical Review. X},
number = 4,
volume = 6,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Mon Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.041025
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