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http://hdl.handle.net/2289/4012| Title: | Chiral symmetry breaking in crystals of achiral polymers |
| Authors: | Hatwalne, Yashodhan Muthukumar, Murugappan |
| Issue Date: | 31-Aug-2010 |
| Publisher: | American Physical Society |
| Citation: | Physical Review Letters, 2010, Vol.105, p107801 |
| Abstract: | Many achiral polymers crystallize into spherulites with gigantic chirality, as is evident from spectacular images of periodic banding observed in a polarized optical microscope, arising from the twisting of the lamellae making up the spherulites. We present a new mechanism of the spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, by accounting for topological defects in finite crystalline ribbons made of achiral molecules in equilibrium. We show that disclinations stabilize a twisted helicoidal ribbon, with spontaneous selection of its width and chiral period, which are proportional to each other, as a universal law. |
| Description: | Open Access |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2289/4012 |
| ISSN: | 1079-7114-(online) 0031-9007 |
| Alternative Location: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.107801 http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010PhRvL.105j7801H |
| Copyright: | 2010 The American Physical Society |
| Appears in Collections: | Research Papers (SCM) |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010_PRL_105_107801.pdf | Open Access | 241.65 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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