2021/06/03 by Janav P. Udani, Andres F. Arrieta, Udani, Janav P. +1
Computer Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Engineering · #Advanced Materials and Mechanics #Advanced Mathematical Modeling in Engineering #Applied Physics (physics.app-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Seismic Imaging and Inversion Techniques #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2106.01535
openalex publication_date 2021/06/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Geometric frustration appears in a broad range of systems, generally emerging as disordered ground configurations, thereby impeding understanding of the phenomenon's underlying mechanics. We report on a continuum system featuring locally bistable units that allows for the controlled and self-sustained manifestation of macroscopic geometric frustration. The patterning of the units encodes a finite set of ordered ground configurations (spin-ice states) and a unique family of co-existing higher-order frustrated states (spin-liquid states), which are both activated upon unit inversion. We present a strategy for accessing any globally frustrated state on-demand by controlling the constitutive units' inversion sequence. This control strategy allows for observing the unfolding of geometric frustration as the microstructural features evolve due to the energy minimization of the constitutive units' interactions. More broadly, our model system offers a blueprint for "taming" macroscopic geometric frustration, enabling novel applications such as path-driven computation and solving optimisation problems using structural systems.