Competing Hexagonal and Square Lattices on a Spherical Surface

H Xie and WY Liu and ZY Lu and JZY Chen and Y Li, NANO LETTERS, 25, 1193-1198 (2025).

DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c05865

The structural properties of packed soft-core particles provide a platform to understand the cross-pollinated physical concepts in solid- state and soft-matter physics. Confined on a spherical surface, the traditional differential geometry also dictates the overall defect properties in otherwise regular crystal lattices. Using molecular dynamics simulation of the Hertzian model as a tool, we report here the emergence of new types of disclination patterns: domain and counter- domain defects, when hexagonal and square patterns coexist. A new angle is presented to understand the incompatibility between tiling lattice shapes and the available spherical areal shapes, which is common in nature-from molecular systems in biology to backbone construction in architectures.

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