title: Variational theory for nematoacoustics.
abstract: The effect of an ultrasonic wave on the nematic texture has long been known, but its interpretation in terms of a coherent dynamical theory has not yet been achieved. A proposal for such a theory is made in this paper. The diverse theoretical approaches attempted in the past to describe the interaction between sound and nematic molecular orientation are briefly summarized. A theory for second-grade fluids, which provides the appropriate theoretical background for nematoacoustics, is also revived. An explicit application of the proposed theory to a simple computable case is given, which yields predictions that are qualitatively confirmed by a number of experimental results.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Matematica and CNISM, Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy. eg.virga@unipv.it
authors.forename: Epifanio G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Virga