Universal nature of the nematic-to-isotropic transition in solutions of discotic micelles

Abstract

The effective exponents characterizing the orientational order parameter at the nematic-to-isotropic transition in discotic micellar solutions obtained on dissolution of either cesium pentadecafluoro-octanoate or ammonium pentadecafluoro-octanoate in water have been measured and found to have the value 0.34±0.02 over a wide range of concentrations. Thus, within experimental error, these exponents appear to be universal to a remarkably high degree. It is argued that, as for second-order phase transitions, these exponents characterize the fluctuations near the transition and can presumably be associated with some inaccessible fixed point of the renormalization-group flow.