Related papers: Computing with non-orientable defects: nematics, s…
The presence of defects in solids formed by active particles breaks their discrete translational symmetry. As a consequence, many of their properties become space-dependent and different from those characterizing perfectly ordered…
In pulsating active matter, topological defects are motile despite the absence of any macroscopic flows and microscopic self-propulsion. We reveal that this motility arises from a ratchet effect: the mechanochemical coupling between local…
In this paper we rigorously investigate the emergence of defects on Nematic Shells with genus different from one. This phenomenon is related to a non trivial interplay between the topology of the shell and the alignment of the director…
We introduce structural heterogeneity, a new topological characteristic for semi-ordered materials that captures their degree of organisation at a mesoscopic level and tracks their time-evolution, ultimately detecting the order-disorder…
Recent studies point out far-reaching connections between the topological characteristics of structural glasses and their material properties, paralleling results in quantum physics that highlight the relevance of the nature of the…
Phenomenological nonequilibrium thermodynamics describes how fluxes of conserved quantities such as matter, energy and charge flow from outer reservoirs across a system, and how they irreversibly degrade from one form to another. Stochastic…
Due to the intertwining between electronic nematic and elastic degrees of freedom, lattice defects and structural inhomogeneities commonly found in crystals can have a significant impact on the electronic properties of nematic materials.…
In this work, we present an atomistic first-principles framework for modeling the low-temperature electronic and transport properties of disordered two-dimensional (2D) materials with randomly distributed point defects (impurities). The…
Defects influence the properties and functionality of all crystalline materials. For instance, point defects participate in electronic (e.g. carrier generation and recombination) and optical (e.g. absorption and emission) processes critical…
Active materials are capable of converting free energy into directional motion, giving rise to striking dynamical phenomena. Developing a general understanding of their structure in relation to the underlying non-equilibrium physics would…
Topological defects play a critical role across many fields, mediating phase transitions and macroscopic behaviors as they move through space. Their role as robust information carriers has also generated much attention. However, controlling…
Topological defects are increasingly being identified in various biological systems, where their characteristic flow fields and stress patterns are associated with continuous active stress generation by biological entities. Here, using…
This is a survey article for the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, 2nd Edition. Topological defects are described in the context of the 2-dimensional Ising model on the lattice, in 2-dimensional quantum field theory, in topological…
In this paper I discuss the formation of topological defects in quantum field theory and the relation between fractals and coherent states. The study of defect formation is particularly useful in the understanding of the same mathematical…
We study the dynamics of topological defects in continuum theories governed by a free energy minimization principle, building on our recently developed framework [Romano J, Mahault B and Golestanian R 2023 J. Stat. Mech.: Theory Exp.…
Recent experiments and numerical studies have drawn attention to the dynamics of active nematics. Two-dimensional active nematics flow spontaneously and exhibit spatiotemporal chaotic flows with proliferation of topological defects in the…
We study the low-temperature regime of an atomic liquid on the hyperbolic plane by means of molecular dynamics simulation and we compare the results to a continuum theory of defects in a negatively curved hexagonal background. In agreement…
Defects play an important role in a number of fields dealing with ordered structures. They are often described in terms of their topology, mutual interaction and their statistical characteristics. We demonstrate theoretically and…
Defects in the atomic lattice of solids are sometimes desired. For example, atomic vacancies, single ones or more elaborated defective structures, can generate localized magnetic moments in a non magnetic crystalline lattice. Increasing…
We introduce the theoretical framework we use to study the bewildering variety of phases in condensed--matter physics. We emphasize the importance of the breaking of symmetries, and develop the idea of an order parameter through several…