title: DH(*) in chiral smectics under electric field.
abstract: The behavior of double helices (DH(*) formed in the temperature interval N(*) -SmA(*) in compounds of non-chiral liquid crystals doped with chiral molecules was investigated. Two different systems presenting left-handed and right-handed chirality were studied. A statistics of the handedness of the DH(*) revealed a correlation with the mixture chirality, as predicted theoretically in C. Meyer, Yu. A. Nastishin, M. Kleman, Phys. Rev. E 82, 031704 (2010). By applying a gradually increasing AC electric field, one can observe the shrinking of the cylinder circumscribing the DH(*) . This shrink is accompanied by a reduction of the DH(*) 's pitch. This effect was similar to the one produced by the decrease of temperature in the absence of the field.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique des Systèmes Complexes, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 33 rue Saint-Leu, 80039, Amiens, France. claire.meyer@u-picardie.fr.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique des Systèmes Complexes, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 33 rue Saint-Leu, 80039, Amiens, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rabette
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique des Systèmes Complexes, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 33 rue Saint-Leu, 80039, Amiens, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gisse
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique des Systèmes Complexes, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 33 rue Saint-Leu, 80039, Amiens, France.|Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko Chaussee 72, 1784, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Antonova
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique des Systèmes Complexes, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 33 rue Saint-Leu, 80039, Amiens, France.|Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, UMR 8502 CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, Bât. 510, 91405, Orsay Cédex, France.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dozov
keywords: Soft Matter: Liquid crystals