Mass Generation from Embedding Geometry in Surface Nematics
Soft Condensed Matter
2026-05-20 v1
Abstract
We show that a nematic field constrained to a curved embedded surface develops an emergent geometric mass in its leading isotropic interaction sector. An auxiliary embedding-space closure mediated by the surface spin connection yields a massive scalar mode with mass set by the extrinsic curvature invariant . This mass arises directly from embedding geometry, promoting the intrinsic massless nematic interaction into a geometry-controlled massive field. The resulting theory identifies Gaussian curvature as a distributed geometric charge and establishes embedding geometry as the regulator of defect interactions on curved nematic membranes.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2605.19183,
title = {Mass Generation from Embedding Geometry in Surface Nematics},
author = {J. A. Santiago and F. Monroy},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.19183},
year = {2026}
}