A two-component nonlinear variational wave system

We derive a novel two-component generalization of the nonlinear variational wave equation as a model for the director field of a nematic liquid crystal with a variable order parameter. The equation admits classical solutions locally in time. We prove that a special semilinear case is globally well-posed. We show that a particular long time asymptotic expansion around a constant state in a moving frame satisfies the two-component Hunter-Saxton system.