Topological Rigidity and Non-Abelian Defect Junctions in Chiral Nematic Systems with Effective Biaxial Symmetry
We study topologically stable defect structures in systems where the defect line classification in three dimensions and associated algebra of interactions (the fundamental group) are governed by the non-Abelian eight-element group, the quaternions <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><a:msub><a:mi>Q</a:mi><a:mn>8</a:mn></a:msub></a:math>. The non-Abelian character of the defect algebra leads to a topological rigidity of bound defect pairs, and trivalent junctions which are the building blocks of multijunction trivalent networks. We realize such structures in laboratory chiral nematics and analyze their behavior analytically, along with numerical modeling.
Authors
- Jin-Sheng Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7377-3002)
- Mark J. Bowick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1716-2754)
- Roberto Abril Valenzuela (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5171-3354)
- Ivan I. Smalyukh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3444-1966)
Institutions
- Hiroshima University (JP)
- University of Colorado System (US)
- University of California System (US)
- Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review X
- Published
- 2025-05-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.15.021036
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Liquid Crystal Research Advancements
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.43
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Hiroshima University
- University of Colorado Boulder
- Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Basic Energy Sciences
- Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering