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We present a theoretical study of the director fields and energetics of nematic liquid crystal shells with two pairs of surface defects. The pairs of defects can undergo abrupt transitions between a configuration of maximum separation to at…
In a density-imbalanced bilayer Wigner crystal, where the ratio of electron densities in separate layers deviates slightly from unity, defects spontaneously form in one or both layers in the ground state of the system. Due to quantum…
Topological defects are a ubiquitous phenomenon in diverse physical systems. In nematic liquid crystals (LCs), they are dynamic, physicochemically distinct, sensitive to stimuli, and are thereby promising for a range of applications.…
We numerically investigate nucleation processes in the transient dynamics of the two-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equation towards its "frozen" state with quasi-stationary spiral structures. We study the transition kinetics from…
We study the gradient flow model for the Landau-de Gennes energy functional for nematic liquid crystals at the nematic-isotropic transition temperature on prototype geometries. We study the dynamic model on a three-dimensional droplet and…
We prove uniqueness and non-degeneracy of the critical point of positive, semi-stable solutions of $-\Delta u=f(u)$ with Dirichlet boundary conditions for a class of star-shaped domains of the sphere and of the hyperbolic plane satisfying a…
We consider the Landau-de Gennes variational problem on a bound\-ed, two dimensional domain, subject to Dirichlet smooth boundary conditions. We prove that minimizers are maximally biaxial near the singularities, that is, their biaxiality…
We present a theory of a single point, line or plane defect coupling to the square of the order parameter in a metallic system near a quantum critical point at or above its upper critical dimension. At criticality, a spin droplet is…
Liquid crystal droplets are of great interest from physics and applications. Rigorous mathematical analysis is challenging as the problem involves harmonic maps (and in general the Oseen-Frank model), free interfaces and topological defects…
In this paper we study qualitative properties of global minimizers of the Ginzburg-Landau energy which describes light-matter interaction in the theory of nematic liquid crystals near the Friedrichs transition. This model is depends on two…
Topological point defects on orientationally ordered spheres, and on deformable fluid vesicles have been partly motivated by their potential applications in creating super-atoms with directional bonds through functionalization of the…
Liquid crystals formed of bent-core molecules are exotic materials that exhibit the twist-bend nematic phase. This arises when an energetic preference for nonzero local bend distortion is accommodated via twist in the texture, resulting in…
For the Landau-de Gennes functional modeling nematic liquid crystals in dimension three, we prove that, if the energy is bounded by $C(\log\frac{1}{\varepsilon}+1)$, then the sequence of minimizers…
We present a framework to elucidate the existence of accidental contacts of energy bands, particularly those called Dirac points which are the point contacts with linear energy dispersions in their vicinity. A generalized von-Neumann-Wigner…
A class of parabolic-parabolic Keller-Segel systems with degenerate diffusion and volume filling is studied in a bounded domain subject to no-flux boundary conditions. The equations are derived from a multiphase fluid model. The interplay…
Confined samples of liquid crystals are characterized by a variety of topological defects and can be exposed to external constraints such as extreme confinements with nontrivial topology. Here we explore the intrinsic structure of smectic…
We consider diatomic systems in which the kinetic energy of the electrons is treated in a simple relativistic model. The Born-Oppenheimer approximation is assumed. We investigate questions of stability, deducing bounds on the number $N$ of…
A two-dimensional or quasi-two-dimensional nematic liquid crystal refers to a surface confined system. When such a system is further confined by external line boundaries or excluded from internal line boundaries, the nematic directors form…
The ejecta discharged by impacting meteorites can redistribute a planetary ring's mass and angular momentum. This `ballistic transport' of ring properties instigates a linear instability that could generate the 100--1000-km undulations…
Saturn's rings consist of a huge number of water ice particles, with a tiny addition of rocky material. They form a flat disk, as the result of an interplay of angular momentum conservation and the steady loss of energy in dissipative…