Topological vacancies in spherical crystal clusters

Abstract

Understanding geometric frustration of ordered phases in two-dimensional condensed matters on curved surfaces is closely related to a host of scientific problems in condensed matter physics and materials science. Here we show how two-dimensional Lennard-Jones crystal clusters confined on a sphere resolve the geometric frustration and lead to pentagonal vacancy structures. These vacancies, originated from the combination of curvature and physical interaction, are found to be topological defects and they can be further classified into dislocational and disclinational types. We analyze the dual role of these crystallographic defects as both vacancies and topological defects, illustrate their formation mechanism, and present the phase diagram. The revealed dual role of the topological vacancies may find applications in the fabrication of robust nanopores. This work also suggests the promising potential of exploiting the richness in both physical interactions and substrate geometries to create new types of crystallographic defects, which have strong connections with the design of crystalline materials.