title: Communication: Experimental proof of symmetry breaking in tilted smectics composed of molecules with axial chirality.
abstract: For the first time, domains with twisted structures have been established in planar samples of achiral compounds in tilted smectic C phase. This evidences separation of molecular conformers differing in the sense of axial chirality and confirms polar C(2) symmetry of these domains. A simple model considering polar surface anchoring energy and bulk energy of the twist can account for this finding. Conditions for coexistence of twisted and homogeneous domains are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21 Prague 8, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Milada
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Glogarová
authors.forename: František
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hampl
authors.forename: Lubor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lejček
authors.forename: Vladimíra
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Novotná
authors.forename: Jiří
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Svoboda
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cigl