Static And Dynamic Properties Of Ferroelectric Liquid-Crystals In The Vicinity Of A 1st-Order Sma-Smc-Asterisk Phase-Transition

A unified theoretical description of static and dynamic properties of ferroelectric liquid crystals in terms of a Landau free energy is presented. The shear deformation tensor is used as principal order parameter. Results for the stationary case for tilt angle variation and dielectric properties are compared with experiments on a compound with a pronounced first-order SmA-SmC* phase transition for various strengths of the applied electric field.