Related papers: Topological vacancies in spherical crystal cluster…

We argue that 2D dodecagonal spherical quasicrystalls (QCs) will be discovered in the nearest future and investigate how the planar QC order becomes compatible with the spherical geometry. We show that the appearance of curvature-induced…

It is shown that twisted $n$-layers have an intrinsic degree of freedom living on $2n$-tori, which is the phason supplied by the relative slidings of the layers and that the twist generates pseudo magnetic fields. As a result, twisted…

Here, the frequency degree of freedom is introduced into valley photonic crystals with dual band gaps. Based on the high-order plane wave expansion model, we derive an effective Hamiltonian which characterizes dual band gaps. Metallic…

Abundant in nature, colloids also find increasingly important applications in science and technology, ranging from direct probing of kinetics in crystals and glasses to fabrication of third-generation quantum-dot solar cells. Because…

Recently, there has been a drive towards the realization of topological phases beyond conventional electronic materials, including phases defined in more than three dimensions. We propose a versatile and experimentally realistic approach of…

Recent experimental observations have suggested that topological defects can facilitate the creation of sharp features in developing embryos. Whereas these observations echo established knowledge about the interplay between geometry and…

Topological frustration arises when boundary conditions impose geometric frustration in a quantum system, creating delocalized defects in the ground states and profoundly altering the low-energy properties. While previous studies have been…

We investigate a counterintuitive geometric interaction between defects and curvature in thin layers of superfluids, superconductors and liquid crystals deposited on curved surfaces. Each defect feels a geometric potential whose functional…

Defect modes in two-dimensional periodic photonic structures have found use in a highly diverse set of optical devices. For example, photonic crystal cavities confine optical modes to subwavelength volumes and can be used for Purcell…

Finding the ground states of identical particles packed on spheres has relevance for stabilizing emulsions and a venerable history in the literature of theoretical physics and mathematics. Theory and experiment have confirmed that defects…

We study the phase behaviour of a quasi-two dimensional cholesteric liquid crystal shell. We characterise the topological phases arising close to the isotropic-cholesteric transition, and show that they differ in a fundamental way from…

The interplay between geometry, topology and order can lead to geometric frustration that profoundly affects the shape and structure of a curved surface. In this commentary we show how frustration in this context can result in the faceting…

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…

We directly image individual vortex positions in nanocrystals in order to unveil the structural property that contributes to the depletion of the entropy-jump entailed at the first-order transition. On reducing the nanocrystal size the…

Almost all observed square-triangle quasicrystals in soft-matter systems contain a large number of point-like defects, yet the role these defects play in stabilizing the quasicrystal phase remains poorly understood. In this work, we…

Motivated by recent experiments on the rod-like virus bacteriophage fd, confined to circular and annular domains, we present a theoretical study of structural transitions in these geometries. Using the continuum theory of nematic liquid…

Topological defects attract much recent interest in high-energy and condensed matter physics because they encode (non-invertible) symmetries and dualities. We study codimension-1 topological defects from a hamiltonian point of view, with…

A crystal structure with a point defect typically returns to its ideal local structure upon moving a few bond lengths away from the defect; topological defects such as dislocations or disclinations also heal rapidly in this regard. Here we…

We study static and dynamical properties that distinguish two dimensional crystals constrained to lie on a curved substrate from their flat space counterparts. A generic mechanism of dislocation unbinding in the presence of varying Gaussian…

A systematic analysis of defect textures in facetted nanoparticles with polygonal configurations embedded in a nematic matrix is performed using the Landau-de Gennes model, homeotropic strong anchoring in a square domain with uniform…