Soft modes of the dielectric response in the twist–bend nematic phase and identification of the transition to a nematic splay bend phase in the CBC7CB dimer

The dielectric spectra of the twist bend nematic phase of the bent shaped achiral liquid crystal dimer are studied for the determination of the different relaxation modes. The two molecular processes were assigned one to the precessional rotation of the longitudinal components of the cyanobiphenyl groups and the second to the spinning rotation of the transverse component of the dimer. The low frequency peak shows a peculiar temperature behavior...