42 research outputs found
Kibble-Zurek mechanism in curved elastic surface crystals
Topological defects shape the material and transport properties of physical
systems. Examples range from vortex lines in quantum superfluids,
defect-mediated buckling of graphene, and grain boundaries in ferromagnets and
colloidal crystals, to domain structures formed in the early universe. The
Kibble-Zurek (KZ) mechanism describes the topological defect formation in
continuous non-equilibrium phase transitions with a constant finite quench
rate. Universal KZ scaling laws have been verified experimentally and
numerically for second-order transitions in planar Euclidean geometries, but
their validity for discontinuous first-order transitions in curved and
topologically nontrivial systems still poses an open question. Here, we use
recent experimentally confirmed theory to investigate topological defect
formation in curved elastic surface crystals formed by stress-quenching a
bilayer material. Studying both spherical and toroidal crystals, we find that
the defect densities follow KZ-type power laws independent of surface geometry
and topology. Moreover, the nucleation sequences agree with recent experimental
observations for spherical colloidal crystals. These results suggest that KZ
scaling laws hold for a much broader class of dynamical phase transitions than
previously thought, including non-thermal first-order transitions in non-planar
geometries.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures; introduction and typos correcte
Nonlinear buckling and symmetry breaking of a soft elastic sheet sliding on a cylindrical substrate
We consider the axial compression of a thin sheet wrapped around a rigid
cylindrical substrate. In contrast to the wrinkling-to-fold transitions
exhibited in similar systems, we find that the sheet always buckles into a
single symmetric fold, while periodic solutions are unstable. Upon further
compression, the solution breaks symmetry and stabilizes into a recumbent fold.
Using linear analysis and numerics, we theoretically predict the buckling force
and energy as a function of the compressive displacement. We compare our theory
to experiments employing cylindrical neoprene sheets and find remarkably good
agreement.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure
Geometry of wave propagation on active deformable surfaces
Fundamental biological and biomimetic processes, from tissue morphogenesis to
soft robotics, rely on the propagation of chemical and mechanical surface waves
to signal and coordinate active force generation. The complex interplay between
surface geometry and contraction wave dynamics remains poorly understood, but
will be essential for the future design of chemically-driven soft robots and
active materials. Here, we couple prototypical chemical wave and
reaction-diffusion models to non-Euclidean shell mechanics to identify and
characterize generic features of chemo-mechanical wave propagation on active
deformable surfaces. Our theoretical framework is validated against recent data
from contractile wave measurements on ascidian and starfish oocytes, producing
good quantitative agreement in both cases. The theory is then applied to
illustrate how geometry and preexisting discrete symmetries can be utilized to
focus active elastic surface waves. We highlight the practical potential of
chemo-mechanical coupling by demonstrating spontaneous wave-induced locomotion
of elastic shells of various geometries. Altogether, our results show how
geometry, elasticity and chemical signaling can be harnessed to construct
dynamically adaptable, autonomously moving mechanical surface wave guides.Comment: text changes abstract and intro, new results on self-propelled
elastic shells added; 5 pages, 3 figures; videos available on reques
Subdivision Shell Elements with Anisotropic Growth
A thin shell finite element approach based on Loop's subdivision surfaces is
proposed, capable of dealing with large deformations and anisotropic growth. To
this end, the Kirchhoff-Love theory of thin shells is derived and extended to
allow for arbitrary in-plane growth. The simplicity and computational
efficiency of the subdivision thin shell elements is outstanding, which is
demonstrated on a few standard loading benchmarks. With this powerful tool at
hand, we demonstrate the broad range of possible applications by numerical
solution of several growth scenarios, ranging from the uniform growth of a
sphere, to boundary instabilities induced by large anisotropic growth. Finally,
it is shown that the problem of a slowly and uniformly growing sheet confined
in a fixed hollow sphere is equivalent to the inverse process where a sheet of
fixed size is slowly crumpled in a shrinking hollow sphere in the frictionless,
quasi-static, elastic limit.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, 1 tabl
Curvature-Induced Instabilities of Shells
Induced by proteins within the cell membrane or by differential growth,
heating, or swelling, spontaneous curvatures can drastically affect the
morphology of thin bodies and induce mechanical instabilities. Yet, the
interaction of spontaneous curvature and geometric frustration in curved shells
remains still poorly understood. Via a combination of precision experiments on
elastomeric spherical bilayer shells, simulations, and theory, we show a
spontaneous curvature-induced rotational symmetry-breaking as well as a
snapping instability reminiscent of the Venus fly trap closure mechanism. The
instabilities and their dependence on geometry are rationalized by reducing the
spontaneous curvature to an effective mechanical load. This formulation reveals
a combined pressurelike bulk term and a torquelike boundary term, allowing
scaling predictions for the instabilities in excellent agreement with
experiments and simulations. Moreover, the effective pressure analogy suggests
a curvature-induced buckling in closed shells. We determine the critical
buckling curvature via a linear stability analysis that accounts for the
combination of residual membrane and bending stresses. The prominent role of
geometry in our findings suggests the applicability of the results over a wide
range of scales.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures (including Supporting Information
Bimodal rheotactic behavior reflects flagellar beat asymmetry in human sperm cells
Successful sperm navigation is essential for sexual reproduction, yet we still understand relatively little about how sperm cells are able to adapt their swimming motion in response to chemical and physical cues. This lack of knowledge is owed to the fact that it has been difficult to observe directly the full 3D dynamics of the whip-like flagellum that propels the cell through the fluid. To overcome this deficiency, we apply a new algorithm to reconstruct the 3D beat patterns of human sperm cells in experiments under varying flow conditions. Our analysis reveals that the swimming strokes of human sperm are considerably more complex than previously thought, and that sperm may use their heads as rudders to turn right or left.Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant 148743)Solomon Buchsbaum AT&T Research Fun
Curvature-Controlled Defect Localization in Elastic Surface Crystals
We investigate the influence of curvature and topology on crystalline dimpled patterns on the surface of generic elastic bilayers. Our numerical analysis predicts that the total number of defects created by adiabatic compression exhibits universal quadratic scaling for spherical, ellipsoidal, and toroidal surfaces over a wide range of system sizes. However, both the localization of individual defects and the orientation of defect chains depend strongly on the local Gaussian curvature and its gradients across a surface. Our results imply that curvature and topology can be utilized to pattern defects in elastic materials, thus promising improved control over hierarchical bending, buckling, or folding processes. Generally, this study suggests that bilayer systems provide an inexpensive yet valuable experimental test bed for exploring the effects of geometrically induced forces on assemblies of topological charges.MIT Masdar ProgramSwiss National Science Foundation (148743)Solomon Buchsbaum AT&T Research FundAlfred P. Sloan Foundation (Sloan Research Fellowship)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CAREER CMMI-1351449
Universality in the firing of minicolumnar-type neural networks
An open question in biological neural networks is whether changes in firing modalities are mainly an individual network property or whether networks follow a joint pathway. For the early developmental period, our study focusing on a simple network class of excitatory and inhibitory neurons suggests the following answer: Networks with considerable variation of topology and dynamical parameters follow a universal firing paradigm that evolves as the overall connectivity strength and firing level increase, as seen in the process of network maturation. A simple macroscopic model reproduces the main features of the paradigm as a result of the competition between the fundamental dynamical system notions of synchronization vs chaos and explains why in simulations the paradigm is robust regarding differences in network topology and largely independent from the neuron model used. The presented findings reflect the first dozen days of dissociated neuronal in vitro cultures (upon following the developmental period bears similarly universal features but is characterized by the processes of neuronal facilitation and depression that do not require to be considered for the first developmental period).
A key element for explaining processes in nature by physics has been the art of choosing the optimal level of description for the effects to be described. In our current challenge to explain important aspects of our brain by means of physics, we still largely miss such a handle at many levels: To what detail, e.g., is it necessary to model neurons and their connectivity to understand what their neural network is doing? For simple small-size networks of minicolumnar type (by many considered as a potential module underlying the function of the cortex), we show that all networks from this large network class follow the same—universal—behavior, as their overall connectivity strength is enhanced. Moreover, the paradigm that they follow can be explained in terms of low-dimensional dynamical systems theory, which reveals the origin of the universal behavior. Our findings suggest that other network classes could be treated in a similar manner. The uncovered universality permits us to substantially limit the degree of details required to model cortical computation, which opens up a novel perspective toward more effective simulations of and investigations into close-to-biology neural networks and sheds a novel perspective on biological multiscale information processing. From the practical side, our findings imply that biological neural networks with strong parallels to the increase of a connectivity strength will develop closely along the uncovered paradigm. Examples are neuronal cultures at the early stage of their development or biochemical processes that globally enhance the connectivity strength among the elements of the neural network