Surface fields and the splay-bend elastic constant

Abstract

We show that a surface field localized near the bounding surface over a mesoscopic length gives rise to a subsurface discontinuity. Our result is compared with a recent elastic theory in which the subsurface distortion is due to the splay-bend elastic constant. By means of our model, the interpretation of continuous surface variations of the average nematic orientation is given and compared with the elastic model. ͓S1063-651X͑96͒51205-5͔ PACS number͑s͒: 61.30.Cz, 61.30.Gd