Order-parameter fluctuations in a ferroelectric liquid crystal by broadband dielectric spectroscopy

Broadband dielectric spectroscopy (${10}^{\mathrm{-}1}$–${10}^9$ Hz, 100–450 K) was employed to study a pure ferroelectric liquid crystal containing only a single dipole moment in the chiral terminal group. In addition to the Goldstone and soft mode the high-frequency order-parameter fluctuations in the smectic-A phase and chiral-smectic-C phase could be found as predicted theoretically by Blinc and Žekš [Phys. Rev. A 18, 740 (1978)].