English

A simple, general criterion for onset of disclination disorder on curved surfaces

Soft Condensed Matter 2020-08-19 v1

Abstract

Determining the positions of lattice defects on elastic surfaces with Gaussian curvature is a non-trivial task of mechanical energy optimization, particularly for surfaces with boundaries. We introduce a simple way to predict the onset of disclination disorder from the shape of bounded surfaces. The criterion fixes the value of a weighted integral Gaussian curvature to a universal constant and proves accurate across a great variety of shapes, even when previously suggested criteria fail. It is an easy avenue to improved understanding of the limitations to crystalline order in many materials.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2003.07826,
  title  = {A simple, general criterion for onset of disclination disorder on curved surfaces},
  author = {Siddhansh Agarwal and Sascha Hilgenfeldt},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2003.07826},
  year   = {2020}
}