Generalization of the Maier-Saupe theory of the nematics within Tsallis thermostatistics

In this study, one of the mean-field theories in nematics, the Maier-Saupe theory (MST), is generalized within Tsallis thermostatistics (TT). The variation of the order parameter versus temperature has been investigated and compared with experimental data for p-azoxyanisole (PAA). So far, we believe that this is the first attempt at the application of TT in liquid crystals. It is well known that MST fails to explain the experimental data for some of the nematics, one of which is PAA. However, generalized MST is able to account for the experimental data for a long range of temperatures. Also, in this study, the effect of nonextensivity is shown for various values of the entropic index. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.