Abstract
We formulate a fracton-elasticity duality for twisted moiré superlattices, taking into account that they are incommensurate crystals with dissipative phason dynamics. From a dual tensor-gauge formulation, as compared to standard crystals, we identify twice the number of conserved charges that describe topological lattice defects, namely, disclinations and another type of defects that we dub discompressions. The key implication of these conservation laws is that both glide and climb motions of lattice dislocations are suppressed, indicating that dislocation networks may become exceptionally stable. We also generalize our results to other planar incommensurate crystals and quasicrystals.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 064109 |
| Journal | Physical Review B |
| Volume | 104 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank H. Ochoa for fruitful discussions. J.G. was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) Project No. SCHM 1031/12-1. G.P. and J.S. were supported by the DFG - TRR 288 - 422213477 Elasto-Q-Mat (Project No. A07). R.M.F. was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, under Award No. DE-SC0020045. R.M.F. also acknowledges a Mercator Fellowship (TRR 288 - 422213477) from the German Research Foundation (DFG).
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© 2021 American Physical Society.