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Orientational Order in the Nematic and Heliconical Nematic Liquid Crystals

X-ray scattering and polarized microscopic studies of the structure and order parameters in the nematic (N) and heliconical, or the twist-bend nematic (Ntb), phase have been performed as a function of temperature. The nematic orientational order parameters <P2(cosθ)> and <P4(cosθ)> in the nematic phases of CB7CB and its mixtures with less than 20 wt% CB6CB reveal that they both increase with decreasing temperature in the N phase. Both order parameters decrease upon entering the Ntb phase and <P4(cosθ)> becomes negative providing a direct confirmation of the conical molecular orientational distribution. The heliconical tilt angle, estimated from the orientational distribution functions (ODFs), in all cases increases from zero at the N - Ntb transition to approximately 27° at about 40 K below the transition, in excellent agreement with freeze fracture transmission electron microscopy results of Chen and the birefringence results of Meyer. The growth of the tilt angle in the Ntb phase follows a single power law with exponents between ~0.09 +/- 0.01 to -0.12 +/- 0.01, which is far from the expected tricritical or mean field exponents of 0.25 or 0.5. The temperature dependence of the tilt angle calculated from the ODFs also is in good qualitative agreement with the values estimated from optical studies of their ropelike textures within adjacent blocks of left- and right-handed twist in homogeneously aligned cells.