Smectic phases

Smectic phase of the fused hard sphere model.

Smectic (from the Latin smecticus - "having the properties of soap" ). All of the smectic phases are layered, belonging to the $G_1^3$ symmetry group.

Smectic A phase

In the smectic-A phase each layer is a 2-dimensional liquid, having the symmetry $D_\infty$ in the Schoenflies notation.

Smectic C phase

The smectic-C phase has the monoclinic symmetry $C_{\rm 2h}$.

References

Related reading

• Pierre-Gilles De Gennes and J. Prost "Physics of Liquid Crystals" (1995)
• Jan P. F. Lagerwall and Frank Giesselmann "Current Topics in Smectic Liquid Crystal Research", ChemPhysChem 7 pp. 20-45 (2006)