2023/11/06 by Livio Nicola Carenza, Carenza, Livio Nicola, Josep-Maria Armengol-Collado +5 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Evolution and Genetic Dynamics #FOS: Physical sciences #Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2311.03276
openalex publication_date 2023/11/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Quasi-long ranged order is the hallmark of two-dimensional liquid crystals. At equilibrium, this property implies that the correlation function of the local orientational order parameter decays with distance as a power law: i.e. ∼|\boldsymbolr|^-ηp, with ηp a temperature-dependent exponent. While in general non-universal, ηp=1/4 universally at the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, where orientational order is lost because of the unbinding of disclinations. Motivated by recent experimental findings of liquid crystal order in confluent cell monolayers, here we demonstrate that, in \em active liquid crystals, the notion of quasi-long ranged order fundamentally differs from its equilibrium counterpart and is ultimately dictated by the interplay between translational and orientational dynamics. As a consequence, the exponent ηp is allowed to vary in the range 0<ηp≤ 2, with the upper bound corresponding to the isotropic phase. Our theoretical predictions are supported by a survey of recent experimental data, reflecting a wide variety of different realization of orientational order in two dimensions.