title: External field-induced switching in nematic elastomers: a Monte Carlo study.
abstract: We present a Monte Carlo study of external field-induced switching in nematic elastomers, employing a coarse-grained shearable lattice model. In large enough systems a full-wavelength Fréedericksz effect is observed --as opposed to the half-wavelength effect seen in ordinary nematics-- that clearly reflects in simulated polarized light textures, as well as in deuterium magnetic resonance spectra. The reorientation of mesogenic units is accompanied by pronounced shear deformations.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica Fisica ed Inorganica and INSTM, Università di Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 4, I-40136, Bologna, Italy. gregor.skacej@fmf.uni-lj.si
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Skacej
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zannoni