Dielectric relaxation study in a glassy low-molecular-weight ferroelectric liquid crystal

The dynamics of a low-molecular-weight ferroelectric liquid crystal that can be frozen into a glassy state has been studied by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy covering a wide time scale range from ${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}10}$ s to ${10}^{1}$ s. The temperature dependence of the relaxation frequency of the process related to rotations around the molecular long axis follows the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann law. The frequency of the Goldstone mode, related to azimuthal fluctuations of the director, also shows this unusual behavior. The results are discussed in the framework of different theoretical approaches to the glass transition.