Two-dimensional Landau–de Gennes dynamical model for the unwinding transition of a cholesteric liquid crystal

Abstract

In this Rapid Communication we derive a simple dynamical model for the unwinding transition of a cholesteric liquid crystal. Our model describes not only the equilibrium but also the nonequilibrium features of the transition. In particular, our model is in qualitative agreement with the experimental observations of systems containing rotating spiral waves, all of the same handedness.