Universal Nature of the Nematic Phase

Abstract

In this paper, we synthesize and resume some previous results found on the universality of the nematic phase's anisotropic behavior. Throughout a linear transformation on the experimental data of some anisotropic macroscopic properties, we show that the corresponding points become distributed along universal lines that extend along the entire range of the nematic phase, from the nematic-isotropic phase-transition region until the nematic-crystalline phase-transition region. We also show that the universal curve of the order parameter is characterized by a singular power law behavior, with a single exponent that encompasses the entire range of the nematic phase.

Keywords:

• Nematic phase
• order parameter
• universality

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Brazilian Agencies Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Fundação Araucária (Paraná), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia) and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Fluidos Complexos for financial support.