AN ELASTIC ENERGY FOR THE FERROELECTRIC CHIRAL SMECTIC C ASTERISK PHASE

An expression for the elastic energy of the ferroelectric, chiral smectic C* liquid crystal phase is presented. It is shown that due to the chirality of the system, compared with the elastic energy of the smectic C phase, the elastic energy of the smectic C* phase contains three additional terms, one of which is a surface term. Of the two remaining terms one is responsible for the helicoidal ordering of the c-director, while the other term will impose a tendency on the smectic layers to be non-uniform in space. The physical interpretation of the presence in the elastic energy of such a term is discussed.