Landau-de Gennes free energy expansion for nematic polymers

Abstract
The Landau-de Gennes free energy expansion coefficients for nematic polymers are evaluated on the basis of a molecular-statistical model. It is proved that the obtained expansion provides a reliable qualitative description of the phase transition to the nematic state for polymers with arbitrary molecular length and rigidity. It is demonstrated that this transition is always of the first-order type and the jump of the order parameter is weakly dependent on the molecular length and rigidity

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