Related papers: Field-Programmable Topological Torons in Chiral Ne…
Creation and control of topological complex excitations play crucial roles in both fundamental physics and modern information science. Torons are a sophisticated class of 3D chiral polar topological structures with both skyrmionic…
Quasiparticles in liquid crystals, such as torons and skyrmions, represent a new class of topologically protected solitonic excitations, offering a promising route toward soft microrobotics. Here we demonstrate that torons can be propelled…
Malleability of metals is an example of how dynamics of defects like dislocations induced by external stresses alters material properties and enables technological applications. However, these defects move merely to comply with the…
Three-dimensional (3D) simulations of the structure of liquid crystal (LC) torons, topologically protected distortions of the LC director field, under material flows are rare but essential in microfluidic applications. Here, we show that…
Active colloids and liquid crystals are capable of locally converting the macroscopically-supplied energy into directional motion and promise a host of new applications, ranging from drug delivery to cargo transport at the mesoscale. Here…
Topological solitons, such as skyrmions, arise in field theories of systems ranging from Bose-Einstein condensates to optics, particle physics, and cosmology, but they are rarely accessible experimentally. Chiral nematic liquid crystals…
Topology establishes a unifying framework for a diverse range of scientific areas including particle physics, cosmology, and condensed matter physics. One of the most fascinating manifestations of topology in the context of condensed matter…
Electric field induced collective reorientation of nematic molecules placed between two flat parallel electrodes is of importance for both fundamental science and practical applications. This reorientation is either homogeneous over the…
Topological solitons are knots in continuous physical fields classified by non-zero Hopf index values. Despite arising in theories that span many branches of physics, from elementary particles to condensed matter and cosmology, they remain…
We study experimentally and theoretically discrete solitons in crystalline structures consisting of several tens of laser-cooled ions confined in a radiofrequency trap. Resonantly exciting localized, spectrally gapped vibrational modes of…
Topology can manifest itself in colloids when quantified by invariants like Euler characteristics of nonzero-genus colloidal surfaces, albeit spherical colloidal particles are most often studied, and colloidal particles with complex…
Widely known for their uses in displays and electro-optics, liquid crystals are more than just technological marvels. They vividly reveal the topology and structure of various solitonic and singular field configurations, often markedly…
Various director configurations of a nematic liquid crystal, confined in a toroidal volume and subject to an external magnetic field, were evaluated numerically by performing finite element calculations in three dimensions. The equilibrium…
Chiral condensed matter systems, such as liquid crystals and magnets, exhibit a host of spatially localized topological structures that emerge from the medium's tendency to twist and its competition with confinement and field coupling…
We explore spatially localized solitonic configurations of a director field, generated using optical realignment and laser-induced heating, in frustrated chiral nematic liquid crystals confined between substrates with perpendicular surface…
Recent experimental observations have suggested that topological defects can facilitate the creation of sharp features in developing embryos. Whereas these observations echo established knowledge about the interplay between geometry and…
Polar solitons, i.e., solitonic waves accompanying asymmetry of geometry or phase, have garnered attention in polar systems, such as ferroelectric or magnetoelectric materials, where they play a critical role in topological transitions and…
Topologically nontrivial field configurations called "baby skyrmions" behave like particles and give origins to the field of skyrmionics that promises racetrack memory and other technological applications. Unraveling the non-equilibrium…
The ability to manipulate polar entities with multiple external fields opens exciting possibilities for emerging functionalities and novel applications in spin systems, photonics, metamaterials, and soft matter. Liquid crystals (LCs),…
Topological spin and polar textures have fascinated people in different areas of physics and technologies. However, the observations are limited in magnetic and solid-state ferroelectric systems. Ferroelectric nematic is the first…