Smectic- Cα* -smectic- C* phase transition and critical point in binary mixtures

We have investigated the smectic- Cα* -smectic- C* (Sm Cα* -Sm C*) transition in a series of binary mixtures with resonant x-ray diffraction, differential optical reflectivity, and heat capacity measurements. Results show that the phases are separated by a first-order transition that ends at a critical point. We report the observation of such a critical point. We have proposed the appropriate order parameter and obtained values of two critical exponents associated with this transition. The values of the critical exponents suggest that long-range interactions are present in the Sm Cα* -Sm C* critical region.