Effect of the quadrupolar interactions on dielectric response of chiral smectic liquid crystals

A discrete model is used to study the dielectric response of chiral smectic liquid crystals under the influence of external harmonic electric field. In this model, the order parameter is the tilt parameter ξ
j
which describes the magnitude and direction of the director in layer-j, where inclines at an angle to the smectic layer normal. The effect of quadrupolar interactions on dielectric loss of chiral smectic liquid crystal phases is calculated numerically. Analytical expressions for the dielectric loss in terms of eigen-frequencies of the phase and amplitude modes can be derived from the free energy expansion. Numerical results of frequency dependence of dielectric loss are also obtained.