Abstract:
We have shown that cholesteryl nonanoate, a thermotropic compound which is well known to exhibit pretransitional effects at the smectic A (SmA) cholesteric (N*) transition (W.L. McMillan, Phys. Rev. A 4, 1238 (1971); 6, 936 (1972)), has in fact a TGBA phase in between. Our arguments rely on the observation of new TGBA defects, either in Robinson spherulites cooled from the N* phase or in free-standing films. The same new defects can be obtained in a well-documented TGBA phase of a tolane compound. We analyze qualitatively the TGBA defects in both geometries, in particular their relation to the disclination radius of the N* Robinson spherulites.
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Received 12 February 2001
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Nastishin, Y., Kléman, M., Malthête, J. et al. Identification of a TGBA liquid crystal phase via its defects. Eur. Phys. J. E 5, 353–357 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s101890170066
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s101890170066