Generalization of the Maier-Saupe theory of the nematics within Tsa llis Thermostatistics

In this study, one of the mean-field theories in nematics, the Maier-Saupe theory (MST), is generalized within Tsallis Thermostatistics (TT). The variation of the order parameter versus temperature has been investigated and compared with experimental data for PAA (p-azoxyanisole). So far we believe that this is the first attempt of the application of TT in liquid crystals. It is well known that MST fails to explain the experimental data for some of the nematics, one of which is PAA. However generalized MST (GMST) is able to account for the experimental data for a long range of temperatures. Also in this study, the effect of nonextensivity is shown for various values of the entropic index.