Density, dielectric and X-ray studies of smectic A-smectic A transitions

Abstract

We report here the results of detailed density, dielectric and x-ray studies on three systems exhibiting different types of Smectic A-Smectic A transitions. It is found that although the layer spacing shows marked changes at the transitions, the corresponding density changes are extremely small. In every case studied, the dielectric anisotropy shows a pronounced decrease on going over to the lower temperature smectic A phase. This decrease can be correlated with the structural changes.