Related papers: Nematics, Knots and Non-orientable Surfaces
Topological photonics harnesses the physics of topological insulators to control the behavior of light. Photonic modes robust against material imperfections are an example of such control. In this work, we propose a soft-matter platform…
Topological defects play a fundamental role in the investigation of symmetries in quantum field theories. For conformal field theories in two space-time dimensions, it is possible to construct these defects using lattice models allowing…
Topological insulators are materials that conduct on the surface and insulate in their interior due to non-trivial topological order. The edge states on the interface between topological (non-trivial) and conventional (trivial) insulators…
We study RNA foldings and investigate their topology using a combination of knot theory and embedded rigid vertex graphs. Knot theory has been helpful in modeling biomolecules, but classical knots place emphasis on a biomolecule's…
Topological magnetism has sparked an unprecedented age in quantum technologies. Marked by twisted spin structures with exotic dynamical modes, topological magnets have motivated a new generation of spintronic devices which transcend the…
Colloidal particles in liquid crystals tend to induce topological defects and distortions of the molecular alignment within the surrounding anisotropic host medium, which results in elasticity-mediated interactions not accessible to their…
We study the spatiotemporal patterns that emerge when an active nematic film is topologically constraint. These topological constraints allow to control the non-equilibrium dynamics of the active system. We consider ellipsoidal shapes for…
Long-range e.g. Coulomb-like interactions for (quantized) topological charges are observed experimentally in liquid crystals, bringing open question this article is exploring: how far can we take this resemblance with particle physics?…
When a nematic liquid crystal is confined in a porous medium with strong anchoring conditions, topological defects, called disclinations, are stably formed with numerous possible configurations. Since the energy barriers between them are…
Recent discoveries of topological phases realized in electronic states in solids have revealed an important role of topology, which ubiquitously appears in various materials in nature. Many well-known materials have turned out to be…
Geometry and topology play a fundamental role in determining pattern formation on 2D surfaces in condensed matter physics. For example, local positive Gaussian curvature of a 2D surface attracts positive topological defects in a liquid…
This monograph introduces key concepts and problems in the new research area of Periodic Geometry and Topology for materials applications.Periodic structures such as solid crystalline materials or textiles were previously classified in…
Knots are commonly represented and manipulated via diagrams, which are decorated planar graphs. When such a knot diagram has low treewidth, parameterized graph algorithms can be leveraged to ensure the fast computation of many invariants…
By means of computer simulations we study how droplets of hard, rod-like particles optimize their shape and internal structure under the influence of the osmotic compression caused by the presence of spherical particles that act as…
Freestanding tubular crystals offer a general description of crystalline order on deformable surfaces with cylindrical topology, such as single-walled carbon nanotubes, microtubules, and recently reported colloidal assemblies. These systems…
There is now growing evidence of the emergence and biological functionality of liquid crystal features, including nematic order and topological defects, in cellular tissues. However, how such features that intrinsically rely on particle…
The progress of realizing colloidal structures mimicking natural forms of organization in condensed matter is inherently limited by the availability of suitable colloidal building blocks. To enable new forms of crystalline and…
Anisotropic fluids appear in a diverse array of systems, from liquid-crystal displays to bacterial swarms, and are characterized by orientational order. Large colloidal particles immersed in such environments disturb the medium's…
Liquid crystalline media mediate interactions between suspended particles and confining geometries, which not only has potential to guide patterning and bottom-up colloidal assembly, but can also control colloidal migration in microfluidic…
Topological defects in active liquid crystals can be confined by introducing gradients of activity. Here, we examine the dynamical behavior of two defects confined by a sharp gradient of activity that separates an active circular region and…