Uniqueness in the Freedericksz transition with weak anchoring (Q1014714)

The authors study some mathematical models describing liquid crystals and connected with orientational order of molecules resulting from competition between reorienting effect of an applied external magnetic or electrostatic field on the one hand and anchoring to the bounding surfaces on the other hand. The considered model is described by a second-order partial boundary value problem. After a change of variables, both the equation and the boundary conditions contain one and the same nonlinearity with convexity property. Uniqueness of solutions is analyzed by means of ordinary differential equations.