Thermal and Optical Studies of Liquid Crystal Phases and Phase Transitions

在我们目前对物质的凝聚态（如固体、流体、超流体、液晶、磁性等）的理解的发展过程中，对称和维度的概念发挥了至关重要的作用。这在研究从一个相到另一个相的转变时尤其如此，目前认为，对两相的维数和对称变化的了解通常足以确定非常接近转变的系统的结构和热响应函数中的奇点。这个统一的概念目前正在被广泛的测试和利用，以系统的凝聚态相根据他们有时微妙的性质。这里提出了一个关于某些单体和聚合物液晶相和相变的热学和光学研究计划，旨在揭示这些有趣的相在更广泛的凝聚态相体系中的地位，其中它们似乎可以填补以前未知但现在明显的空白。

In the development of our current understanding of condensed phases of matter (e.g., solids, fluids, superfluids, liquid crystals, magnetism, etc.), the concepts of symmetry and dimensionality have played vital roles. This is especially true in the study of transitions from one phase to another where it is currently believed that a knowledge of the dimensionality and of the change in symmetry of the two phases is often sufficient for the determination of singularities in the structural and thermal response functions of the system very near the transition. This unifying concept is currently being widely tested and exploited to systematize condensed matter phases according to their sometimes subtle properties. Proposed here is a program of thermal and optical studies of certain monomer and polymer liquid crystal phases and phase transitions designed to reveal the place held by these interesting phases within the broader scheme of condensed matter phases, wherein it appears they may fill previously unknown but now conspicuous gaps.