title: Spontaneous formation of macroscopic chiral domains in a fluid smectic phase of achiral molecules
abstract: A smectic liquid-crystal phase made from achiral molecules with bent cores was found to have fluid layers that exhibit two spontaneous symmetry-breaking instabilities: polar molecular orientational ordering about the layer normal and molecular tilt. These instabilities combine to form a chiral layer structure with a handedness that depends on the sign of the tilt. The bulk states are either antiferroelectric-racemic, with the layer polar direction and handedness alternating in sign from layer to layer, or antiferroelectric-chiral, which is of uniform layer handedness. Both states exhibit an electric field-induced transition from antiferroelectric to ferroelectric.
authors.affiliation: D. R. Link, G. Natale, R. Shao, J. E. Maclennan, N. A. Clark, Department of Physics, Condensed Matter Laboratory, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. E. Korblova and D. M. Walba, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Univ.
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Link
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Natale
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Maclennan
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Korblova
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Walba