Prof. Lech Longa
        Department of Statistical Physics
           Jagellonian University
              Kraków, Poland

  TITOLO: deGennes model of chiral liquid crystals

ABSTRACT: Chirality is a fascinating issue in liquid crystal physics. It leads to
fundamentally new phases like the ("Abrikosov'') Twist Grain Boundary phases, the cubic Blue
Phases and the isotropic liquid phases (one of them being known as BPIII). In the first
part of the talk a systematic characterization of these phases will be offered. Then we turn
to the discussion of the phenomenological deGennes free energy expansion, which is crucial
for our present way of thinking about chirality. Also a role of chirality-induced
correlations in proper explanation of BPIII - the most puzzling of the chiral phases -
will be discussed.