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Generalized van der Waals theory for the twist elastic modulus and helical pitch of cholesterics.

We derive the first algebraic expressions for the density/temperature dependence of the twist elastic modulus and cholesteric pitch of liquid crystals in terms of the molecular characteristics. Chirality is ubiquitous in systems ranging from optoelectronic displays to biomolecules. The link between the microscopic features and bulk chirality is poorly understood. Our predictions help explain the recent apparently contradictory experimental findings for solutions of chiral viruses [Grelet and Fraden, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 198302, (2003)]. The work described in our paper was presented as keynote presentations at the British Liquid Crystal Conference (Hull, 2009), and Statistical Physics XVI Conference (Zaragoza, 2009).