Coarsening Dynamics of Curved Hexagonal Phases

NICOLÁS A. GARCÍA; LEOPOLDO R. GÓMEZ; DANIEL A. VEGA

Princeton

Congreso; Through the Looking-glass: a Glimpse into the Geometry and Topology of Materials; 2012

Princeton Center For Theoretical Science

We study the coarsening dynamics of two dimensional hexagonal phases deposited on curved backgrounds. An initial liquid-like disordered system is quenched into the hexagonal phase and the ordering process is followed as a function of time for different curvatures of the underlying substrate. Early hexagonal seeds preferentially form in regions of low curvature, where the geometrical frustration on the lattice is reduced. The growth of these seeds creates a polycrystalline phase, with several domains and out of equilibrium defect configurations. Further relaxation involves mechanisms of grain growth and defect annihilation, where the strain field introduced by the geometry is partially screened out by topological defects.