Dynamical theory of topological defects

A method is presented to obtain stochastic equations of motion for topological defects from the underlying TDGL-like stochastic dissipative field equations. The method makes use of virtual displacements of the Goldstone coordinates of topological defects. Effects of kinematical constraints among Goldstone coordinates are studied. The method is applied to modulated systems and we obtain stochastic equations of motion for interfaces (domain walls) and vortex lines (dislocation or defect lines). The driving force for a vortex line is found to include besides the usual surface tension force a new force due to misfit, which is an analogue of the Magnus force on a quantized vortex line and the Peach-Kochler force on a dislocation. A general expression for interactions between parts of interfaces is obtained in terms of asymptotic forms of field variables far from interfaces.     

Effect of Disclination Lines on Free Energy of Nematic Liquid Crystals

In the light of φ-mapping method-and topological current theory, the effect of disclination lines on the free energy density of nematic liquid crystals is studied. It is pointed out that the total Frank free energy density can be divided into two parts. One is the distorted energy density of director field around the disclination lines. The other is the saddle-splay energy density, which is shown to be centralized at the disclination lines and to he topologically quantized in the unit of kπ/2 when the Jacobian determinant of the director field does not vanish at the singularities of the director field. The topological quantum numbers are determined by the Hopf indices and Brouwer degrees of the director field at the disclination lines, i.e., the disclination strengthes. When the Jacobian determinant vanishes, the generation, annihilation, intersection, splitting and merging processes of the saddle-splay energy density are detailed in the neighborhoods of the limit points and bifurcation points, respectively. It is shown that the disclination line with high topological quantum number is unstable and will evolve to the low topological quantum number states through the splitting process.     

Junction Line Disclinations: Characterisation and Observations

Experimental observations obtained using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HREM) of junctions between two or more interfaces are analysed to determine whether they exhibit disclination character. The method of analysis used is circuit mapping, and the advantage of using rotation and mirror symmetry operations in the present context, rather than translation operations as is done conventionally, is demonstrated. This technique is applied to micrographs of junctions selected from published literature, and includes junctions in homophase and heterophase materials. It is concluded that few observations currently provide unequivocal evidence of junction line disclination character. This situation may be due in part to the special crystallographic constraints on the applicability of HREM to studies of junction lines. The examples which have been identified all arise at intersections where favourable interfaces, such as epitaxial and twin boundaries, intersect. Moreover, such juncions occur either in pairs, in the form of disclination dipoles, or in small particles.     

Tailoring edge and interface states in topological metastructures exhibiting the acoustic valley Hall effect

In this study, we investigate the acoustic topological insulator or topological metastructure, where an acoustic wave can exist only in an edge or interface state instead of propagating in bulk. Breaking the structural symmetry enables the opening of the Dirac cone in the band structure and the generation of a new band gap, wherein a topological edge or interface state emerges.Further, we systematically analyze two types of topological states that stem from the acoustic valley Hall effect mechanism;one type is confined to the boundary, whereas the other type can be observed at the interface between two topologically different structures. Results denote that the selection of different boundaries along with appropriately designed interfaces provides the acoustic waves in the band gap range with abilities of one-way propagation, dual-channel propagation, immunity from backscattering at sharp corners, and/or transition between propagation at interfaces and boundaries. Furthermore, we show that the acoustic wave propagation paths can be tailored in diverse and arbitrary ways by combing the two aforementioned types of topological states.     

Topological Structure of Knotted Vortex Lines in Liquid Crystals

In this paper, a novel decomposition expression for the U（1） gauge field in liquid crystals （LCs） is derived. Using this decomposition expression and the b-mapping topological current theory, we investigate the topological structure of the vortex lines in LCs in detail. A topological invariant, i.e., the Chern-Simons （CS） action for the knotted vortex lines is presented, and the CS action is shown to be the total sum of all the self-linking and linking numbers of the knot family. Moreover, it is pointed out that the CS action is preserved in the branch processes of the knotted vortex lines.     

Evolution of large-scale correlations in a strongly nonequilibrium Bose condensation process

The evolution of off-diagonal correlation functions (for the example of a single-particle density matrix) in the process of Bose condensation of an initially nonequilibrium interacting gas is discussed. Special attention is given to the character of the decay of the density matrix at distances much greater than the size of the quasicondensate region. Specifically, it is shown that the exponential decay of the density matrix necessarily presupposes the presence of a chaotic vortex structure — a tangle of vortex lines — in the system. When topological order is established but there is no off-diagonal long-range order, the density matrix decays with distance according to a power law. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 7, 495–501 (10 April 1998)     

Contribution of Disclination Lines to Free Energy of Liquid Crystals in Single-Elastic Constant Approximation

In the light of C-mapping method and topological current theory, the contribution of disclination lines to free energy density of liquid crystals is studied in the single-elastic constant approximation. It is pointed out that the total free energy density can be divided into two parts. One is the usual distorted energy density of director field around the disclination lines. The other is the free energy density of disclination lines themselves, which is shown to be centralized at the disclination lines and to be topologically quantized in the unit of kn/2. The topological quantum numbers are determined by the Hopf indices and Brouwer degrees of the director l~eld at the disclination lines, i.e. the disclination strengths. From the Lagrange‘s method of multipliers, the equilibrium equation and the molecular field ofliquid crystals are also obtained. The physical meaning of the Lagrangian multiplier is just the distorted energy density.     

Topological Aspects of Triplet Superconductors

In this paper, using the Φ-mapping theory, it is shown that two kinds of topological defects, i.e., the vortex lines and the monopoles exist in the helical configuration of magnetic field in triplet superconductors. And the inner topological structure of these defects is studied. Because the knot solitons in the triplet superconductors are characterized by the Hopf invariant, we also establish a relationship between the Hopf invariant and the linking number of knots family, and reveal the inner topological structure of the Hopf invariant.     

A Geometric Approach to Boundaries and Surface Defects in Dijkgraaf–Witten Theories

Dijkgraaf–Witten theories are extended three-dimensional topological field theories of Turaev–Viro type. They can be constructed geometrically from categories of bundles via linearization. Boundaries and surface defects or interfaces in quantum field theories are of interest in various applications and provide structural insight. We perform a geometric study of boundary conditions and surface defects in Dijkgraaf–Witten theories. A crucial tool is the linearization of categories of relative bundles. We present the categories of generalized Wilson lines produced by such a linearization procedure. We establish that they agree with the Wilson line categories that are predicted by the general formalism for boundary conditions and surface defects in three-dimensional topological field theories that has been developed in Fuchs et al. (Commun Math Phys 321:543–575, 2013)     

Spin-resolved edge states transport in a normal/ferromagnetic/normal topological insulator junction: The role of interface

The spin-resolved edge states transport in a normal/ferromagnetic/normal topological insulator (TI) junction is investigated numerically. It is shown that the transport properties of the hybrid junction strongly depend on the interface shape. For the junction with two sharp interfaces, a nonzero spin conductance can be generated besides the spin-split energy windows. Moreover, the axial symmetries of the in-plane spin conductance amplitude are broken. The underlying physics is attributed to the sharp-interface-induced quantum interference effect. However, for the hybrid junction with two smooth interfaces, a non-zero spin conductance can only be achieved in the spin-split energy windows. Further, the axial symmetries of the in-plane spin conductance amplitude recover. These findings may not only benefit to further apprehend the spin-dependent edge states transport in the hybrid TI junctions but also provide some theoretical bases to the application of the topological spintronics devices.     

Non-Abelian bosonization and topological aspects of BCS systems

It is shown that many features of the low energy behaviour of weak coupling BCS systems are topological in character. This is done by writing the BCS action as a Fermi surface sum of (1 + 1)-dimentional non-Abelian actions, each one of which can be bosonized à la Witten. This process leads to the correct current generating parts (as found by Cross) in the effective action for the gap function, and in addition a Wess-Zumino term. The mass and spin currents are calculated for the three-dimensional theory, and it is shown that upon averaging over all directions on the Fermi surface, the contribution from the Wess-Zumino term vanishes for a pure spin singlet or pure spin triplet gap, but not otherwise.     

Interfacial cracking in ceramic laminates

The lamination of composite elements such as sheets or fibres made from ceramic powders represents a cheap and easy way of making tough ceramics. The fabrication and failure behaviour of such layered structures is described. It is shown that crack growth along the interfaces is dominated by dynamic effects due to the storage of excess elastic energy and that effects of loading state, in the silicon carbide/graphite system at least, appear to be relatively unimportant. Crack deflection at interfaces is also discussed and it is shown that observations made in these systems are not consistent with existing theories. Various possibilities are investigated.     

MIB method for elliptic equations with multi-material interfaces

Elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs) are widely used to model real-world problems. Due to the heterogeneous characteristics of many naturally occurring materials and man-made structures, devices, and equipments, one frequently needs to solve elliptic PDEs with discontinuous coefficients and singular sources. The development of high-order elliptic interface schemes has been an active research field for decades. However, challenges remain in the construction of high-order schemes and particularly, for nonsmooth interfaces, i.e., interfaces with geometric singularities. The challenge of geometric singularities is amplified when they are originated from two or more material interfaces joining together or crossing each other. High-order methods for elliptic equations with multi-material interfaces have not been reported in the literature to our knowledge. The present work develops matched interface and boundary (MIB) method based schemes for solving two-dimensional (2D) elliptic PDEs with geometric singularities of multi-material interfaces. A number of new MIB schemes are constructed to account for all possible topological variations due to two-material interfaces. The geometric singularities of three-material interfaces are significantly more difficult to handle. Three new MIB schemes are designed to handle a variety of geometric situations and topological variations, although not all of them. The performance of the proposed new MIB schemes is validated by numerical experiments with a wide range of coefficient contrasts, geometric singularities, and solution types. Extensive numerical studies confirm the designed second order accuracy of the MIB method for multi-material interfaces, including a case where the derivative of the solution diverges.     

Knot solitons in AFZ model

This paper studies the topological properties of knotted solitons in the (3+1)-dimensional Aratyn--Ferreira--Zimerman (AFZ) model. Topologically, these solitons are characterized by the Hopf invariant I, which is an integral class in the homotopy group π₃(S³)=Z. By making use of the decomposition of U(1) gauge potential theory and Duan's topological current theory, it is shown that the invariant is just the total sum of all the self-linking and linking numbers of the knot family while only linking numbers are considered in other papers. Furthermore, it is pointed out that this invariant is preserved in the branch processes (splitting, merging and intersection) of these knot vortex lines.     

Passivity and Microlocal Spectrum Condition

In the setting of vector-valued quantum fields obeying a linear wave-equation in a globally hyperbolic, stationary spacetime, it is shown that the two-point functions of passive quantum states (mixtures of ground- or KMS-states) fulfill the microlocal spectrum condition (which in the case of the canonically quantized scalar field is equivalent to saying that the two-pnt function is of Hadamard form). The fields can be of bosonic or fermionic character. We also give an abstract version of this result by showing that passive states of a topological *-dynamical system have an asymptotic pair correlation spectrum of a specific type. Received: 9 February 2000 / Accepted: 7 June 2000     

Topological insulator: Spintronics and quantum computations

Topological insulators are emergent states of quantum matter that are gapped in the bulk with timereversal symmetry-preserved gapless edge/surface states, adiabatically distinct from conventional materials. By proximity to various magnets and superconductors, topological insulators show novel physics at the interfaces, which give rise to two new areas named topological spintronics and topological quantum computation. Effects in the former such as the spin torques, spin-charge conversion, topological antiferromagnetic spintronics, and skyrmions realized in topological systems will be addressed. In the latter, a superconducting pairing gap leads to a state that supports Majorana fermions states, which may provide a new path for realizing topological quantum computation. Various signatures of Majorana zero modes/edge mode in topological superconductors will be discussed. The review ends by outlooks and potential applications of topological insulators. Topological superconductors that are fabricated using topological insulators with superconductors have a full pairing gap in the bulk and gapless surface states consisting of Majorana fermions. The theory of topological superconductors is reviewed, in close analogy to the theory of topological insulators.     

Topological Nodal Line Semimetal in Non-Centrosymmetric PbTaS_2

Topological semimetals are a new type of matter with one-dimensional Fermi lines or zero-dimensional Weyl or Dirac points in momentum space. Here using first-principles calculations, we find that the non-centrosymmetric PbTaS2 is a topological nodal line semimetal. In the absence of spin-orbit coupling(SOC), one band inversion happens around a high symmetrical H point, which leads to forming a nodal line. The nodal line is robust and protected against gap opening by mirror reflection symmetry even with the inclusion of strong SOC. In addition, it also hosts exotic drumhead surface states either inside or outside the projected nodal ring depending on surface termination. The robust bulk nodal lines and drumhead-like surface states with SOC in PbTaS_2 make it a potential candidate material for exploring the freakish properties of the topological nodal line fermions in condensed matter systems.     

Topological solitons in Frenkel—Kontorova chains

The properties of topological defects representing local regions of contraction and extension in the Frenkel—Kontorova chains are described. These defects exhibit the properties of quasi-particles—solitons that possess certain effective masses and are capable of moving in the Peierls—Navarro potential field having the same period as that of the substrate on which the chain is situated. The energy characteristics related to soliton motion in the chain are discussed. The dynamics of highly excited solitons that can appear either during topological defect formation or as a result of thermal fluctuation is considered. The decay of such an excitation resulting in soliton thermalization under the action of a fluctuating field generated by atomic vibrations in the chain and substrate is described in terms of the generalized Langevin equation. It is shown that soliton motion can be described using a statistically averaged equation until the moment when the soliton attains the state of thermodynamic equilibrium or is captured in one of the Peierls—Navarro potential wells, after which the motion of soliton in the chain acquires a hopping (activation) character. Analytical expression describing the curve of soliton excitation decay is obtained.