Abstract
The authors consider a tilt grain-boundary with small angle theta in an incommensurate smectic Aic liquid crystal with ordering wavenumbers q1, q2 and sample thickness h in the direction normal to the layers. For qi theta h<<1, a limit well within the reach of experiment, they find that the dislocation array which forms such a boundary has a spacing D approximately h1/5 theta -4/5. This prediction, which is qualitatively different from that obtained for periodic smectics by Nallet and Prost, should serve as a decisive test for the existence of phasons and hence for the truly incommensurate nature of these systems.
Export citation and abstract BibTeX RIS