Related papers: Hidden in-plane long-range order in an amorphized …
We show that two-dimensional systems of deformable particles undergo a continuous liquid-hexatic transition upon compression or cooling, but no hexatic-solid transition-even at zero temperature and high density. Numerical simulations reveal…
Since the 1985 discovery of the phase transition at $T_{\rm HO}=17.5$ K in the heavy-fermion metal URu$_2$Si$_2$, neither symmetry change in the crystal structure nor magnetic ordering have been observed, which makes this "hidden order"…
Using a version of density-functional theory which combines Onsager approximation and fundamental-measure theory for spatially nonuniform phases, we have studied the phase diagram of freely rotating hard rectangles and hard discorectangles.…
Modeling the electronic and optical properties of organic semiconductors remains a challenge for theory, despite the remarkable progress achieved in the last three decades. The complexity of these systems, including structural (dis)order…
A very remarkable feature of the layered transition metal oxides (TMOs), whose most famous members are the high-temperature superconductors (HTSs), is that even though they are prepared as bulk three-dimensional single crystals, they…
Disordered hyperuniform systems are exotic states of matter that completely suppress large-scale density fluctuations like crystals, and yet possess no Bragg peaks similar to liquids or glasses. Such systems have been discovered in a…
Many systems in nature exhibit transitions between fluid-like states and solid-like states, or "jamming transitions". There is a strong theoretical foundation for understanding equilibrium phase transitions that involve solidification, or…
Phase separation of sequence-disordered liquid crystalline polymers, a promising class of technological and biological relevance, is studied by field theory, and thermodynamic mechanisms responsible for orientational ordering observed in…
Topological defects (TDs) are crucial for understanding important physical properties of crystalline materials including mechanical failure, ion transport, and two-dimensional melting. This concept has not translated to disordered materials…
X-ray tomography is performed to acquire 3D images of crumpled aluminum foils. We develop an algorithm to trace out the labyrinthian paths in the three perpendicular cross sections of the data matrices. The tangent-tangent correlation…
We study the effect of random porous matrices on the ordering in nematic liquid crystals. The randomness destroys orientational lang-range order and drives the liquid crystal into a glass state. We predict two glass phases one of which…
Amorphous solids remain outside of the classification and systematic discovery of new topological materials, partially due to the lack of realistic models that are analytically tractable. Here we introduce the topological Weaire-Thorpe…
It is established theoretically that an ordered state with continuous symmetry is inherently unstable to arbitrarily small amounts of disorder [1, 2]. This principle is of central importance in a wide variety of condensed systems including…
Many different types of phases can form within alloys, from highly-ordered intermetallic compounds, to structurally-ordered but chemically-disordered solid solutions, and structurally-disordered (i.e. amorphous) metallic glasses. The…
We present a mesoscale description of deformations and defects in thin, flexible sheets with crystalline order, tackling the interplay between in-plane elasticity, out-of-plane deformation, as well as dislocation nucleation and motion. Our…
Soft matters whose constituents are deformable are ubiquitous in nature especially in biological systems-including cells and their organelles-as well as in foams and emulsions. The capacity for deformation in these soft materials gives rise…
New emergent states of matter in quantum systems may be created under non-equilibrium conditions if - through many body interactions - its constituents order on a timescale which is shorter than the time required for the system to reach…
We describe an experimental and computational investigation of the ordered and disordered phases of a vibrating thin, dense granular layer composed of identical metal spheres. We compare the results from spheres with different amounts of…
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are an important class of materials that present intriguing opportunities in the fields of sensing, gas storage, catalysis, and optoelectronics. Very recently, two-dimensional (2D) MOFs have been proposed as…
In the last two years we have witnessed the exciting experimental discovery of soft matter with nontrivial quasiperiodic long-range order - a new form of matter termed a soft quasicrystal. Two groups have independently discovered such order…