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The European Physical Journal B
ISSN: 1434-6028 (printed version)
ISSN: 1434-6036 (electronic version)
Abstract Volume 1 Issue 2 (1998) pp 173-177
Effect of hydrodynamic flow on kinetics of nematic-isotropic transition in liquid crystals
J. Fukuda (a)
Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-01, Japan
Received: 8 September 1997 / Received in final form: 23 October 1997 /Accepted: 3 November 1997
Abstract: We investigate kinetics of nematic-isotropic transition by solving the hydrodynamic equations for the nematic $3 \times 3$ tensor order parameter $Q_{\alpha \beta}$ and the fluid velocity in two space dimension (x-y plane). Numerical results indicate that nematic directors tend to align parallel to the x-y plane when hydrodynamic flow is incorporated. Late stage growth exponents, $\phi_{\rm c}$ for the correlation length and $\phi_{\rm def}$ for the number of topological defects, are not significantly altered by hydrodynamic flow. However, in contrast to the case without flow, the relation $\phi_{\rm def} = -2\phi_{\rm c}$ holds well, which may indicate the validity of dynamical scaling for the case with hydrodynamic flow.
PACS. 64.70.MdTransitions in liquid crystals - 64.60.CnOrder-disorder transformations; statistical mechanics of model systems
(a) e-mail: fukuda@ton.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Online publication: February 17, 1998
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