Nucleation Process of Nematic-Smectic Phase Transition

Phase transition of anisotropic materials is studied in physics, materials science, engineering and biology. However, its dynamical process is still elusive. In this work, we investigate the transition of a liquid crystal from a nematic to a smectic phase. A combination of molecular dynamics simulation and machine learning successfully identifies the formation of pre-transitional local structures that precede critical smectic nuclei.