Dynamics of thin tilted hexatic liquid crystal films

Abstract

We have used quasielastic light scattering to measure the bond orientational elasticity and viscosity of thin tilted hexatic liquid crystal films. Our results agree well with a microscopic model of the dynamics of a hexatic. We have also discovered a novel optical mode corresponding to the out-of-phase motion of the tilt field and bond angle field. This mode softens dramatically at the structural phase transition from hexatic I to hexatic F.