Active Nematodynamics on Curved Surfaces – The Influence of Geometric Forces on Motion Patterns of Topological Defects

Abstract

We derive and numerically solve a surface active nematodynamics model. We\nvalidate the numerical approach on a sphere and analyse the influence of\nhydrodynamics on the oscillatory motion of topological defects. For ellipsoidal\nsurfaces the influence of geometric forces on these motion patterns is\naddressed by taking into account the effects of intrinsic as well as extrinsic\ncurvature contributions. The numerical experiments demonstrate the stronger\ncoupling with geometric properties if extrinsic curvature contributions are\npresent and provide a possibility to tune flow and defect motion by surface\nproperties.\n