Related papers: Integer defects, flow localization, and bistabilit…
We investigate the emergence of orientational order among +1/2 disclinations in active nematic liquid crystals. Using a combination of theoretical and experimental methods, we show that +1/2 disclinations have short-range antiferromagnetic…
From the mitotic spindle up to tissues and biofilms, many biological systems behave as active droplets, which often break symmetry and change shape spontaneously. Here, I show that active nematic droplets can experience a fingering…
We consider Lagrangians in 3+1 dimensions admitting topological defects where there is an additional coupling between the defect scalar field $\Phi$ and the gauge field kinetic term (eg $B(\vert \Phi \vert^2) F_{\mu \nu}F^{\mu \nu}$). Such…
Using agent-based simulations of self-propelled particles subject to short-range repulsion and nematic alignment we explore the dynamical phases of a dense active material confined to the surface of a sphere. We map the dynamical phase…
Euler buckling epitomises mechanical instabilities: An inextensible straight elastic line buckles under compression when the compressive force reaches a critical value $F_\ast>0$. Here, we extend this classical, planar instability to the…
High-resolution X-ray observations have revealed cavities and `cold fronts' with sharp edges in temperature, density, and metallicity within galaxy clusters. Their presence poses a puzzle since these features are not expected to be…
Incompressible fluids on curved surfaces are considered with respect to the interplay between topology, geometry and fluid properties using a surface vorticity-stream function formulation, which is solved using parametric finite elements.…
Colloidal and other granular media experience a transition to rigidity known as jamming if the fill fraction is increased beyond a critical value. The resulting jammed structures are locally disordered, bear applied loads inhomogenously,…
We report experimental results on the defect turbulent state of undulation chaos in inclined layer convection of a fluid withPrandtl number $\approx 1$. By measuring defect density and undulation wavenumber, we find that the onset of…
Flocking models with metric and topological interactions are supposed to exhibit distinct features, as for instance the presence and absence of moving polar bands. On the other hand, quenched disorder (spatial heterogeneities) has been…
We study the organization of topological defects in a system of nematogens confined to the two-dimensional sphere (S^2). We first perform Monte Carlo simulations of a fluid system of hard rods (spherocylinders) living in the tangent plane…
In confluent cell monolayers, patterns of cell forces and motion are systematically altered near topological defects in cell shape. In turn, defects have been proposed to alter cell density, extrusion, and invasion, but it remains unclear…
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…
Turbulence is most commonly associated with high Reynolds number flow, however the framework of turbulent dynamics has been conceptually extended to many other fields, such as magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, elastic wave turbulence in…
Field theories predict that phase transitions sequentially breaking continuous and discrete symmetries can generate hybrid topological structures in which defects of different dimensionalities merge. We report experimental and numerical…
We show that topological defects in an ion-doped nematic liquid crystal can be used to manipulate the surface charge distribution on chemically homogeneous, charge-regulating external surfaces, using a minimal theoretical model. In…
Colloidal inclusions in nematic fluids induce topological defects that govern their dynamics. These defects create well-understood rheological behavior in passive nematics, but the interplay between colloid-associated defects and…
We consider a phenomenological continuum theory for an extensile, overdamped active nematic liquid crystal, applicable in the dense regime. Constructed from general principles, the theory is universal, with parameters independent of any…
Toroidal templates such as vesicles with hexatic bond orientational order are discussed. The total energy including disclination charges is explicitly computed for hexatic order embedded in a toroidal geometry. Related results apply for…
Cavitation, the formation of vapor bubbles in metastable liquids, is highly sensitive to nanoscale surface defects. Using molecular dynamics simulations and classical nucleation theory, we show that pure water confined within defect-free…