Scaling Behavior of Fluctuations in Systems with Continuous Symmetry

Ulrich Zürcher, Ulrich Zurcher

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Abstract

<p> In nematic liquid crystals, director fluctuations correpond to the dynamical mode that is critical for all temperatures in zero external fields. The Hurst exponent characterizes the temporal behavior of the mean square displacement of director fluctuations, 〈[&delta;n(r,t)-&delta;n(r,0)]2〉&sim;t2H. We find H=1/2 in finite fields and H=3/4 in zero field. This result differs from that of Zhang et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 1834 (1993)] who find a Hurst exponent that varies continuously from H&simeq;1 in zero field to H&simeq;1/2 in moderate fields.</p>
Original languageAmerican English
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume72
DOIs
StatePublished - May 23 1994

Disciplines

  • Physics

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