Emergent Potts Order in a Coupled Hexatic-Nematic XY model
Victor Drouin-Touchette, Peter P. Orth, Piers Coleman, Premala Chandra, T. C. Lubensky
Abstract
Computational simulations show that a ``mystery'' phase that arises when certain liquid-crystal films solidify arises from the relative ordering of the twofold and sixfold molecular axes of these crystals.
Topics & Concepts
Liquid crystalPotts modelCondensed matter physicsOrder (exchange)Classical XY modelPhase (matter)PhysicsStatistical physicsCrystal (programming language)Materials sciencePhase transitionQuantum mechanicsComputer scienceFinanceEconomicsProgramming languageTheoretical and Computational PhysicsMaterial Dynamics and PropertiesNonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation