Orders Exhibited by Ensemble of Headless Spins Preferring Twisted Alignment: Phase Diagram of Extended Maier–Saupe Model on Simple Cubic Lattice
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Abstract
The effect of the preference for nonparallel alignment without a preferred twist sense of neighboring headless spins is examined through computer simulations on extended Maier–Saupe models on the simple cubic lattice with/without next-nearest-neighbor interactions. Phase diagrams containing four phases are constructed for a varying degree of the preference for the local twist and for a strength of the next-nearest-neighbor interaction. It is shown that the preference for the local twist brings about not only the instability for the nematic (uniaxial) order but also that for a spatial order to reduce the frustration arising from the local twist. The next-nearest-neighbor interaction can produce even a weak spatial order of local chirality. The results are discussed in relation to the formation of a liquid crystalline gyroid phase and chiral phases in ensembles consisting of antispindle molecules that are axially symmetric and achiral.
Journal
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- Journal of the Physical Society of Japan
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Journal of the Physical Society of Japan 86 (8), 084602-, 2017-08
The Physical Society of Japan
