Compliant random fields in gels formed from side-chain liquid crystalline polymers

Localized polymer-chain backbones in gels formed from side-chain liquid crystalline polymers serve to create random fields that induce local orientational order of the nematogenic pendants of the side chains. ~These random fields differ, however, from conventional ones, in that they are compliant, and thus themselves undergo thermal fluctuations. ~We develop a free energy that describes local nematic ordering in presence of such compliant random fields. ~In particular, we show that, as a result of this compliance, the free energy has a qualitatively new structure, unattainable via truly static random fields. ~We discuss the physical implications this free energy, focusing on the consequences of the compliant nature of the random fields.