Equilibrium shapes of smectic-Aphase grown from isotropic phase

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Abstract
Equilibrium shapes of a smectic-A phase grown from an isotropic phase have been investigated. An integral equation which describes the equilibrium shapes is derived by taking account of the difference in Gibbs free energy between the smectic-A and the isotropic phase, a curvature elastic energy of the smectic-A phase, and an interface energy. It is shown that a popular family of solutions of the equation are given by some Weingarten surfaces. The equilibrium cylinder structures with and without beaded configurations observed in the growth of smectic-A phase can be well explained in terms of such surfaces.