Second harmonic light scattering from a bent-core nematic liquid crystal

ORAL

Abstract

We study the angular distribution of second harmonic (SH) light scattered from the aligned nematic phase of a bent-core liquid crystal. Throughout the nematic range and for certain combinations of polarizations of the fundamental and second harmonic fields, we detect peaks in the SH signal at non-zero scattering vectors ($\pm$q) along the nematic director, while the signal for q = 0 (forward direction) remains at the background level. The value of q, which corresponds to a length scale in the micron range, decreases with temperature when heating toward the nematic to isotropic transition. We will present a model to explain the major aspects of our results and indicate their significance in terms of the structure of bent-core nematics.

*This work was supported by the NSF under grants DMR 0964765 and 1307674.

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Authors

  • Shokir Pardaev

    • Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent

  • Antal Jakli

    • Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University
    • Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent. OH 44240
    • Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242

  • Robert Twieg

    • Department of Chemistry \& Biochemistry, Kent State University

  • Jarrod Williams

    • Department of Chemistry \& Biochemistry, Kent State University

  • James T. Gleeson

    • Department of Physics, Kent State University
    • Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44240

  • Brett Ellman

    • Department of Physics, Kent State University

  • Samuel Sprunt

    • Department of Physics, Kent State University
    • Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent
    • Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44240