Biaxial surface order dynamics in calamitic nematics

Abstract

Thermotropic nematic materials relax strong distortions by lowering the nematic order: the uniaxial symmetry is broken and is locally replaced by biaxial domains. We investigated the dynamics of the nematic order near a boundary surface of an asymmetric π-cell submitted to an external electric field, close to the electric order reconstruction threshold. An unexpected phenomenon is observed close, but below the threshold: the biaxial order spreads on the surface inducing a consequent bulk topological behaviour equivalent to the splay-bend fast transition allowed by order reconstruction at higher voltage.