title: Two experimental tests of the halperin-lubensky-Ma effect at the nematic-smectic- A phase transition
abstract: We have conducted two quantitative tests of predictions based on the Halperin-Lubensky-Ma (HLM) theory of fluctuation-induced first-order phase transitions. First, we explore the effect of an external magnetic field on the nematic-smectic- A transition in a liquid crystal. Second, we examine the dependence of the first-order discontinuity as a function of mixture concentration in pure 8CB and three 8CB-10CB mixtures. We find the first quantitative evidence for deviations from the HLM theory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6.
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yethiraj
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bechhoefer