Theory of piezoelectricity in nematic liquid crystals, and of the cholesteric ordering

Abstract

A statistical-mechanical theory of the elastic constants of a liquid crystal based on the Onsager expansion is reexamined, with emphasis on the terms linear in the gradients of the director. This gives a microscopic theory of the piezoelectric effect in nematic liquid crystals, and of the spontaneous twisting of a cholesteric. Model cases of tapered rods, bent rods, and threaded rods are considered.