Abstract
We present a microscopic analysis of the instability of the nematic phase to chirality when molecular chirality is introduced perturbatively. We show that for central-force interactions the previously neglected short–range biaxial correlations play a crucial role in determining the cholesteric pitch. We propose a pseudoscalar strength which quantifies the chirality of a molecule.
- Received 12 July 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.1476
©1997 American Physical Society