Topology investigates the properties of objects that are independent of its geometrical shape and they characterize its properties as a whole: these include its connectivity, the ways it is entangled with itself or with other objects, defects inside materials, knots and many others. In soft and biological matter, which are both easily deformable and subject to incessant thermal forces of strength comparable to those of interaction forces, topology provides strong, irreversible constraints that profoundly affect material properties in equilibrium or under flow. In an authoritative review article just published in the leading journal Physics Reports, a diverse group of scientists from Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology has put together a critical exposure of the state of the art in the field. Faculty of Physics members Christos Likos and Jan Smrek as well as previous associates Luca Tubiana and Emanuele Locatelli are among the article's authors, testifying to the leading role researchers in our Faculty play in this area internationally.
Publication: L. Tubiana et al., Topology in Soft and Biological Matter, Phys. Rep. 1075, 1 – 137 (2024), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2024.04.002
Research group Computational and Soft Matter Physics
Research team of Christos Likos
