https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2013-13126-8
Regular Article
Evolution of topological defects in two-dimensional quenched colloidal systems
1
Institute of Theoretical Physics, Lanzhou University, 730000, Lanzhou, China
2
Center of soft matter physics and its applications, Beihang Univeristy, 100191, Beijing, China
3
School of Physics and Nuclear Energy Engineering, Beihang University, 100191, Beijing, China
4
Department of Mathematics, Kings College London, WC2R 2LS, London, UK
* e-mail: ychen@buaa.edu.cn
Received:
12
February
2013
Revised:
3
July
2013
Accepted:
27
September
2013
Published online:
29
October
2013
We investigated the evolution of topological defects in two-dimensional (2D) quenched colloidal systems using topological current theory. As a singularity of topological currents in order parameter fields, a topological defect is associated with three cases of solutions of zero points: the isolation solution, the limit point, and the bifurcation point. At the limit point, the defects represent a generation or annihilation process, and the number of defects satisfies a power law time-dependent scaling behaviour N d ∝ t −1 . At the bifurcation point, a merging or splitting process appears and N d ∝ t −2 . These properties are in agreement with the results from Brownian dynamics simulations of the quenching processes in 2D colloidal systems with a Yukawa pair interaction.
Key words: Soft Matter: Colloids and Nanoparticles
© EDP Sciences, SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2013