title: Defect dynamics in active nematics.
abstract: Topological defects are distinctive signatures of liquid crystals. They profoundly affect the viscoelastic behaviour of the fluid by constraining the orientational structure in a way that inevitably requires global changes not achievable with any set of local deformations. In active nematic liquid crystals, topological defects not only dictate the global structure of the director, but also act as local sources of motion, behaving as self-propelled particles. In this article, we present a detailed analytical and numerical study of the mechanics of topological defects in active nematic liquid crystals.
authors.affiliation: SISSA, International School for Advanced Studies, Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, PO Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands luca.giomi@sissa.it.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giomi
authors.affiliation: Physics Department and Syracuse Biomaterials Institute, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bowick
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA.
authors.forename: Prashant
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, Physics, and Mathematics, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK.
authors.forename: Rastko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sknepnek
authors.affiliation: Physics Department and Syracuse Biomaterials Institute, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cristina Marchetti
keywords: active liquid crystals; chaotic dynamics; self-propelled particles; topological defects