Related papers: Topological rigidity in twisted, elastic ribbons
Morphogenesis of living systems involves topological shape transformations which are highly unusual in the inanimate world. Here we demonstrate that a droplet of a nematic liquid crystal changes its equilibrium shape from a simply-connected…
We investigate the non-linear equilibration of a two-layer quasi-geostrophic flow in a channel forced by an imposed unstable zonal mean flow, paying particular attention to the role of bottom friction. In the limit of low bottom friction,…
A topology optimization approach for designing large deformation contact-aided shape morphing compliant mechanisms is presented. Such mechanisms can be used in varying operating conditions. Design domains are described by regular hexagonal…
Flexible slender structures such as rods, ribbons, plates, and shells exhibit extreme nonlinear responses bending, twisting, buckling, wrinkling, and self contact, that defy conventional simulation frameworks. Discrete Differential Geometry…
Elasticity has long been regarded as a property exclusive to material media. Here we uncover its hidden existence in the spin degree of freedom. We introduce spin elasticity-an intrinsic mechanism that governs recoverable deformation of…
Using tools and concepts from contact topology we show that non-vanishing twist implies conservation of the layer structure in cholesteric liquid crystals. This leads to a number of additional topological invariants for cholesteric…
Despite their considerable practical and biological applications, the link between molecular properties, assembly conditions and self-organized structure in confined polymer solutions remains elusive. Here, we explore the lyotropic nematic…
Instabilities in thin elastic sheets, such as wrinkles, are of broad interest both from a fundamental viewpoint and also because of their potential for engineering applications. Nematic liquid crystal elastomers offer a new form of control…
In non-linear incompatible elasticity, the configurations are maps from a non-Euclidean body manifold into the ambient Euclidean space, $\mathbb{R}^k$. We prove the $\Gamma$-convergence of elastic energies for configurations of a converging…
The topology of an object describes global properties that are insensitive to local perturbations. Classic examples include string knots and the genus (number of handles) of a surface: no manipulation of a closed string short of cutting it…
We study deformations of topological closed strings. A well-known example is the perturbation of a topological closed string by itself, where the associative OPE product is deformed, and which is governed by the WDVV equations. Our main…
A constitutive relation between stress and strain relative to a reference state is the basic assumption of elasticity theory. However, in living matter, force generation is governed by motor molecule activity, which does not depend on…
Many objects in nature and industry are wrapped in a thin sheet to enhance their chemical, mechanical, or optical properties. There are similarly a variety of methods for wrapping, from pressing a film onto a hard substrate, to using…
This study investigates the probability of threading in star catenanes under good solvent conditions using molecular dynamics simulations, emphasizing the influence of ring rigidity. Threading in these systems arises from the interplay…
This work targets the influence of disorder on the relaxed structure and macroscopic mechanical properties of elastic networks. We construct network classes of different types of disorder (length, topology and stiffness), which are…
Self-propulsion is a quintessential aspect of biological systems, which can induce nonequilibrium phenomena that have no counterparts in passive systems. Motivated by biophysical interest together with recent advances in experimental…
Rigidity is an emergent property of materials - it is not a feature of individual components that comprise the structure, but instead arises from interactions between many constituent parts. Recently, it has been recognized that…
Geometrically frustrated elastic ribbons exhibit, in many cases, significant changes in configuration depending on the relation between their width and thickness. We show that the existence of such a transition, and the scaling at which it…
We investigate the wrinkling dynamics of a thin elastic sheet that is indented or compressed while floating on a viscous liquid. We show that the deformation speed controls the dynamics, leading to a wrinkle wavelength significantly smaller…
Constructing systems that exhibit time-scales much longer than those of the underlying components, as well as emergent dynamical and collective behavior, is a key goal in fields such as synthetic biology and materials self-assembly.…