Dynamic properties of a model liquid crystal system: Gay-Berne particles with transverse dipole moments

Molecular dynamics simulations for molecules represented by the Gay-Berne ellipsoidal particles and transverse point dipoles located at the centres of mass are reported. The system is compressed at constant temperature and the highest density corresponds to the tightest packing of hard ellipsoids. Dynamic properties of the system are studied, particularly in the orientationally ordered phases. Rotational relaxation functions are analysed using the confined rotator model with damped librations and density dependencies of the model parameters are presented. Because the velocity correlation times in the ordered phase are very short that times are not appropriate to describe dynamics of the molecules in that phase, and therefore we propose to use average times between successive velocity reversals instead of the correlation times. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.