Dissipative Ordered Fluids Theories for Liquid Crystals
This is a book on the dissipative dynamics of ordered fluids, with a particular focus on liquid crystals. It covers a whole range of different theories, mainly concerned with nematic liquid crystals in both their chiral and nonchiral variants. The authors
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André M. Sonnet • Epifanio G. Virga
Dissipative Ordered Fluids Theories for Liquid Crystals
André M. Sonnet Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of Strathclyde Glasgow, United Kingdom
Epifanio G. Virga Dipartimento di Matematica Università di Pavia Pavia, Italy
ISBN 978-0-387-87814-0 e-ISBN 978-0-387-87815-7 DOI 10.1007/978-0-387-87815-7 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012930001 Mathematics Subject Classification (2010): 76A15, 82D30
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Preface
This book envisages liquid crystals as particular examples of dissipative ordered fluids. While it may be unique in taking this special perspective, it is not the only mathematical book on liquid crystals, and so one should have more than one good reason to read it. We can only give the reasons that made us write it: the reader will decide whether they suffice. First, we felt the need to formulate a unified mathematical framework within which dynamical theories for liquid crystals can be phrased, a framework that is general enough also to incorporate dynamical theories for other ordered fluids. Our general topic is the evolution of order in fluids and its interaction with flow. Liquid crystals are the ideal arena for testing such a general theory for dissipative ordered fluids, because they are perhaps the best understood incarnation of these fluids. The established dynamical theories for liquid crystals have passed the tests of time and experimental scrutiny. Although we chose to concentrate on this special class of ordered fluids, we also highlight the opportunities that our general method offers in other closely related fields. Since liquid crystals are here only examples of a wider family of ordered fluids, they are not treated in the full generality of all their condensed phases. Although our study is not limited to the traditional uniaxial nematics, since it also embraces the newly discovered (and still disputed) biaxial phases, it does not cover smectic liquid crystals. This large class of fluids, closer indeed to solids, is too complex to be included in an introductory book such as this. However, we interpret nematics in a broad sense, incorporating chi
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