On the isotropic-biaxial phase transition in nematic liquid crystals

Abstract

We apply a recently developed technique to determine adapted coordinates for the sixth degree Landau-deGennes potential, in which the potential is specially simple, to analyze the possibility of a direct transition between the fully symmetric state and a biaxial phase in nematic liquid crystals. {Our results confirm, with simpler computations, results by Allender and Longa.

To appear in EuroPhys. Lett

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