Coarsening Dynamics of Curved Hexagonal Phases

GARCIA NA; GOMEZ LR; VEGA DA

Princeton, NJ, USA

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

Princeton Center for Theoretical Science

The coarsening dynamics of two dimensional hexagonal phases deposited on curved backgrounds is studied for the first time by using numerical simulations. 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 in the lattice is reduced. The growth of these seeds creates a polycrystalline phase containing out of equilibrium defect configurations. Further relaxation towards equilibrium involves mechanisms of grain growth and defect annihilation, where the strain field introduced by the geometry is partially screened out by topological defects.