Phenomenological theory of isotropic-genesis nematic elastomers

Bing Sui Lu*, Fangfu Ye, Xiangjun Xing, Paul M. Goldbart

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We consider the impact of the elastomer network on the nematic structure and fluctuations in isotropic-genesis nematic elastomers, via a phenomenological model that underscores the role of network compliance. The model contains a network-mediated nonlocal interaction as well as a new kind of random field that reflects the memory of the nematic order present at network formation and also encodes local anisotropy due to localized nematogenic polymers. This model enables us to predict regimes of short-ranged oscillatory spatial correlations (thermal and glassy) in the nematic alignment.

Original languageEnglish
Article number257803
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume108
Issue number25
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Jun 2012
Externally publishedYes

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