Analogy between unconventional superconductivity and unconventional states of liquid crystals
An analogy is stressed between the order-parameter symmetries of the two-dimensional d-pairing wave superconductors and of liquid-crystal mesophases formed from achiral bent-shaped molecules. It leads to a definition of a class of liquid-crystal states which are the analogs of the unconventional superconducting states, and are characterized by a loss of discrete symmetry operations of the parent state.
Toledano
P
Instituto de Fisica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Caixa Postal 66318, 05315-970, Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil and Groupe Structure des Materiaux Sous Conditions Extremes, SNBL/ESRF, 38043 Grenoble Cedex, France.
Figueiredo Neto AM