Contributions of repulsive and attractive interactions to nematic order

Both repulsive and attractive molecular interactions can be used to explain the onset of nematic order. The object of this paper is to combine these two nematogenic molecular interactions in a unified theory. This attempt is not unprecedented; what is perhaps new is the focus on the understanding of nematics in the high density limit. There, the orientational probability distribution is shown to exhibit a unique feature: it has compact support on configuration space. As attractive interactions are turned on, the behaviour changes, and at a critical attractive interaction strength, thermotropic behaviour of the Maier-Saupe type is attained.