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Abstract
Using a Rayleigh scattering light beating technique, we have made new measurements on the slow polarized fluctuations, previously identified as being of micellar origin, for a lyotropic system consisting of K-laurate, decanol, D2O and presenting only the uniaxial calamitic nematic (Nc) phase (from among the three known nematic types: uniaxial disk-like (ND), calamitic (Nc) and biaxial (NB) phases). An elaborated analysis of these data is made in order to clarify the relationship between the light scattering signals coming from the micellar fluctuations and those from (classical) orientational fluctuations. The main conclusions of this analysis are that the micellar mode is independent of the temperature and wave-vector, and that its relaxation frequency is substantially lower than that found previously for the same lyotropic components, but presenting the biaxial nematic phase. Finally, some considerations are made of the possible relationships between the micellar fluctuations and the structural properties of lyotropic nematics.