This article is cited in 4 papers

Theoretical and Mathematical Physics

Effect of electric and magnetic fields on the orientation structure of a ferronematic liquid crystal

A. N. Zakhlevnykh, D. V. Makarov

Perm State National Research University

Abstract: We analyze uniform orientation phases in soft ferronematics (suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles in nematic liquid crystals) induced by electric and magnetic fields. It is shown that the competition between the electric and magnetic fields can lead to various sequences of orientation transitions in a ferronematic depending on the energy of coupling between the director and magnetization. We obtain and analyze phase diagrams of these transitions. A sequence of re-entrant transitions in the orientation structure (angular phase-homeotropic phase-angular phase-planar phase) is predicted for a certain range of the coupling energies and electric field strengths.

Received: 13.12.2013

 English version: Technical Physics, 2014, 59:9, 1267–1276

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