Introduction To Topological Defects And Solitons In Liquid Crystals Magnets And Related Materials 1st Edition Jonathan V Selinger by Jonathan V. Selinger 9783031702006, 9783031701993, 303170200X, 3031701992 instant download after payment.

The first half of the book concentrates on fundamental principles of defects and solitons, and illustrates these principles with a single example—the xy model for 2D magnetic order. It begins by defining the concept of a winding number, and uses this concept to describe the topology of defects (vortices or disclinations) and solitons (domain walls), carefully identifying the similarities and differences between these two types of topological structures. It then goes on to discuss physical properties of defects and solitons, including free energy, dynamics, statistical mechanics, and coupling with curvature. It shows how these concepts emerge from a theory with variable magnitude of order, and hence how topology can be viewed as an approximation to physics.