Pair creation, motion, and annihilation of topological defects in 2D nematics

Abstract

We present a novel framework for the study of disclinations in two-dimensional active nematic liquid crystals, and topological defects in general. The order tensor formalism is used to calculate exact multi-particle solutions of the linearized static equations inside a uniformly aligned state. Topological charge conservation requires a fixed difference between the number of half charges. Starting from a set of hydrodynamic equations, we derive a low-dimensional dynamical system for the parameters of the static solutions, which describes the motion of a half-disclination pair, or of several pairs. Within this formalism, we model defect production and annihilation, as observed in experiments. Our dynamics also provide an estimate for the critical density at which production and annihilation rates are balanced.

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Cited by in corpus (20)

• Topological active matter
• Self-organized dynamics and the transition to turbulence of confined active nematics
• Defect unbinding in active nematics
• Hydrodynamics of Active Defects: from order to chaos to defect ordering
• Three-Dimensional Active Defect Loops
• Design of nematic liquid crystals to control microscale dynamics
• Understanding dense active nematics from microscopic models
• Twist-induced crossover from 2D to 3D turbulence in active nematics
• Theory of defect motion in 2D passive and active nematic liquid crystals
• Data-driven discovery of active nematic hydrodynamics
• Dynamics of active nematic defects on the surface of a sphere
• Active extensile stress promotes 3D director orientations and flows
• Designing, Synthesizing and Modeling Active Fluids
• Orientational correlations in active and passive nematic defects
• Active Matter Invasion
• Activity driven orientational order in active nematic liquid crystals on an anisotropic substrate
• Defect Loops in Three-Dimensional Active Nematics as Active Multipoles
• Multi-defect Dynamics in Active Nematics
• Analytical model for the motion and interaction of two-dimensional active nematic defects
• Memory effects, arches and polar defect ordering at the cross-over from wet to dry active nematics