2015-12-11
11:00 at HCI J 498

Toroidal Physics

Alberto Fernandez-Nieves

School of Physics. Georgia Institute of Technology

The torus is an interesting mathematical surface. Its topological and geometrical properties both affect a variety of phenomena. This talk will discuss some of our recent work with toroidal droplets. We will briefly cover their generation and hydrodynamic instability, both in the presence and absence of charge, and discuss how to effectively “freeze” the toroidal shape with the use of yield-stress materials. We will then focus on nematic liquid crystals, and show that these experience spontaneous reflection symmetry breaking when confined inside toroidal spaces. We will end by briefly presenting recent results with active nematics confined to the toroidal surface; these are the first realization of nematic order on a torus.