Liquid crystals: physical properties and nonlinear optical phenomena

Order Parameter, Phase Transition, and Free Energies. Nematic Liquid Crystals. Cholesteric, Smectic, and Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals. Light Scatterings. Laser--Induced Nonelectronic Optical Nonlinearities in Liquid Crystals. Thermal, Density, and Other Nonelectronic Nonlinear Mechanisms. Electronic Optical Nonlinearities. Introduction to Nonlinear Optics. Nonlinear Optical Phenomena Observed in Liquid Crystals. Index.