Phys. Rev. E 81, 031706 (2010) [10 pages]Thermodynamics of blue phases in electric fieldsReceived 2 September 2009; revised 3 February 2010; published 22 March 2010 We present extensive numerical studies to determine the phase diagrams of cubic and hexagonal blue phases in an electric field. We confirm the earlier prediction that hexagonal phases, both two and three dimensional, are stabilized by a field, but we significantly refine the phase boundaries, which were previously estimated by means of a semianalytical approximation. In particular, our simulations show that the blue phase I–blue phase II transition at fixed chirality is largely unaffected by electric field, as observed experimentally. © 2010 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.81.031706
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevE.81.031706
PACS:
61.30.Mp, 64.60.qe
|
|
About | Terms and Conditions | Subscriptions | Search | Help
Use of the American Physical Society websites and journals implies that the user has read and agrees to our Terms and Conditions and any applicable Subscription Agreement. Physical Review®, Physical Review Letters®, Reviews of Modern Physics®, and Physical Review Special Topics® are trademarks of the American Physical Society.