Tilt and temperature dependence of the pitch in the chiral smectic C phase

Abstract The chirality of the constituent molecules in the chiral smectic phase induces a helical structure with a pitch, p 0. Because of the tilt and chirality there is a spontaneous polarization and a bend deformation which act upon the induced helix. The resulting pitch is described as a function of p 0 using the phenomenological theory of a chiral smectic C phase. The pitch, p 0, is then calculated using a molecular theory of the cholesteric phase. The results obtained explain the experimental observations, at least qualitatively.