This blog will document the research project, "Characterizing Active Nematics on the Surface of a Torus."
Nematic materials are composed of anisotropic elements with a preferred average orientation. Active nematics occur when the individual molecules posess an internal energy source; this internal energy is then converted into motion such that the material is continuously driven out of equilibrium. Under confinement in different geomtries, nematic materials must satisfy the constraints imposed by the confining volume. This holds true, even when the material is driven out of equilibrium by its activity. Our goal is to characterize how defects in a 2-dimensional active nematic act in the presence of varying Gaussian curvature.