{
  "abstract": "Can high-harmonic generation track how microscopic intermolecular interactions give rise to macroscopic order? We address this question in the thermotropic liquid crystal 4-cyano-4'-n-pentylbiphenyl, a model system with a well-defined nematic-to-isotropic transition. Using a temperature-controlled flat jet, we show that polarization-resolved high-harmonic generation driven by mid-infrared strong-field pulses is highly sensitive to liquid-crystal order. In the nematic phase, the harmonic yield forms a four-lobed angular pattern with twofold rotational symmetry and is strongest when the driving-field polarization is perpendicular to the molecular director; this anisotropy vanishes in the isotropic liquid. A tight-binding model parameterized by first-principles calculations attributes this response to intermolecular orbital hybridization in short-range antiparallel molecular arrangements. Temperature-dependent measurements across multiple harmonic orders resolve the same first-order phase transition, with each harmonic order exhibiting a distinct optical sensitivity. A multiscale model combining the microscopic response, Landau-de Gennes orientational correlations and phase matching explains this behaviour through the interplay between orientational correlation lengths and harmonic coherence lengths. High-harmonic generation therefore links local electronic coupling to mesoscopic order and macroscopic propagation, providing an all-optical probe of multiscale organization in soft matter.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.28128",
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Marta L. Murillo-Sánchez"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andrea Annunziata"
    },
    {
      "name": "Simon Vendelbo Bylling Jensen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ángel Rubio"
    },
    {
      "name": "Caterina Vozzi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Thomas Pfeifer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Davide Faccialà"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nicolas Tancogne-Dejean"
    },
    {
      "name": "Laura Cattaneo"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ep29epg20963q.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.28128",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "ep29epg20963q",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28128",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.soft"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3107|Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223108704",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.28128",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-20",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ep29epg20963q.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:34:04Z",
      "native_id": "2610.28128",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28128"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.soft",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Tracking multiscale liquid crystal order with high harmonic spectroscopy",
  "title_text": "Tracking multiscale liquid crystal order with high harmonic spectroscopy",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:34:04Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ep29epg20963q",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}