Novel surface phase transition in nematic liquid crystals: Wetting and the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition

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Abstract
The growth of nematic films near a wall close to the nematic-isotropic transition is studied for planar boundary conditions. If the nematic phase wets the wall, near the onset of bulk nematic behavior the nematic film near the wall is in a Kosterlitz-Thouless low-temperature phase. The transition to this phase can be a defect-unbinding transition or a first-order transition, or two transitions may occur. A surface phase diagram is drawn as a function of temperature, bulk ordering field, and surface ordering field.