Anchoring and nematic-isotropic transitions in a confined nematic phase

We present a study of a simple model of a nematic liquid crystal confined between two walls in slab geometry (slit pore). A rich phenomenology, associated with capillary effects as well as orientational transitions, arises. In a previous paper (1999 Phys. Rev. Lett. 82 2697) on the semi-infinite problem (a single wall) we found anchoring transitions whose existence depends on the values of the surface parameters and temperature. We discuss the persistence of this transition in the confined problem and the effects of the confinement on the nematic-isotropic transition.