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Within this analytic quartic Landau theory, equilibrium of a nonconserved scalar order parameter requires $f^{\prime }=0$. At a continuous phase transition, its restoring curvature vanishes, so $f^{\prime \prime }=0$. A nonzero $f^{\prime \prime \prime }$ would leave a cubic leading term in the Taylor expansion about that state and prevent it from being a local minimum. Thus a stable critical endpoint of a quartic Landau free energy requires all three derivatives to vanish, with $f^{\prime \prime \prime \prime }>0$. The condition $f^{\prime \prime }=0$ alone can instead identify a spinodal point.

For $f=\bar{b}{\lambda }^4+\bar{c}{\lambda }^3+\bar{a}{\lambda }^2+\bar{d}\lambda$, $\bar{b}>0$, the successive equations areThey giveAt these values, the free energy is exactly $f({\lambda }_c)+\bar{b}(\lambda -{\lambda }_c{)}^4$, proving stability. With no electric field, $\bar{d}=0$, so necessarily $\bar{c}=0$, followed by ${\lambda }_c={\bar{a}}_c=0$.

For $\bar{c}<0$ and $\chi >0$, the electric-field coupling to nematic order supplies the required negative ${\bar{d}}_c$ atTuning the quadratic coefficient to ${\bar{a}}_c$ simultaneously reaches the field-induced critical endpoint of the isotropic-nematic transition. The PDF's $\tilde{c}$ in the last clause is undefined; it is interpreted here as the previously defined $\bar{c}$. The endpoint is a prediction of the stable quartic, small-field mean-field approximation; higher-order terms or a field beyond the expansion's validity can shift it.