Crystallization dynamics on curved surfaces

Nicolás A. García, Richard A. Register, Daniel A. Vega, Leopoldo R. Gómez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

We study the evolution from a liquid to a crystal phase in two-dimensional curved space. At early times, while crystal seeds grow preferentially in regions of low curvature, the lattice frustration produced in regions with high curvature is rapidly relaxed through isolated defects. Further relaxation involves a mechanism of crystal growth and defect annihilation where regions with high curvature act as sinks for the diffusion of domain walls. The pinning of grain boundaries at regions of low curvature leads to the formation of a metastable structure of defects, characterized by asymptotically slow dynamics of ordering and activation energies dictated by the largest curvatures of the system. These glassylike ordering dynamics may completely inhibit the appearance of the ground-state structures.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number012306
JournalPhysical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
Volume88
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 31 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
  • Statistics and Probability
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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