Phase behavior of liquid crystals confined by smooth walls

Monte Carlo simulations for a simple model liquid crystal are presented. The influence of flat walls on the phase behavior is analyzed for two different anchoring mechanisms, one favoring homeotropic alignment and one simulating a twisted nematic cell without external fields, e.g., two walls with different homogeneous planar alignment. The simulations are performed in the constant pressure ensemble. The box volume may change in the directions perpendicular to the wall normal. The isotropic-nematic phase transition in the bulk system is first studied for different isobars. For the weak first order transition we do not observe any hysteresis down to a temperature accuracy of DeltaT=0.001. The isotherm T=1 is then studied in the bulk as well as in the confined geometries. The walls stabilize the positional order in the systems due to the formation of layers. The orientational order is weakly stabilized.