The topology of smectics

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• Prof. Randy Kamien, Physics Department, University of Pennsylvania
• Tuesday 14 June 2011, 14:15-15:15
• TCM Seminar Room, Cavendish Laboratory.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr G Moller.

The homotopy theory of topological defects in ordered media fails to completely characterize systems with broken translational symmetry. We argue that the problem can be understood in terms of the lack of rotational Goldstone modes in such systems and provide an alternate approach that correctly accounts for the interaction between translations and rotations. Dislocations are associated, as usual, with branch points in a phase field, whereas disclinations arise as critical points and singularities in the phase field. We introduce a three-dimensional model for two-dimensional smectics that clarifies the topology of disclinations and geometrically captures known results without the need to add compatibility conditions. Our work suggests natural generalizations of the two-dimensional smectic theory to higher dimensions and to crystals.

This talk is part of the Irregular seminars in TCM series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• All Cavendish Laboratory Seminars
• All Talks (aka the CURE list)
• Centre for Health Leadership and Enterprise
• Combined TCM Seminars and TCM blackboard seminar listing
• Featured lists
• Hanchen DaDaDash
• Inference Group Summary
• Irregular seminars in TCM
• Lennard-Jones Centre external
• ME Seminar
• Neurons, Fake News, DNA and your iPhone: The Mathematics of Information
• PMRFPS's
• School of Physical Sciences
• TCM Seminar Room, Cavendish Laboratory
• Theory of Condensed Matter
• Thin Film Magnetic Talks
• few29

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.