Evolution of topological defects in two-dimensional quenched colloidal systems

We investigated the evolution of topological defects in two-dimensional (2D) quenched colloidal systems using topological current theory. As a singularity of topological currents in order parameter fields, a topological defect is associated with three cases of solutions of zero points: the isolation solution, the limit point, and the bifurcation point. At the limit point, the defects represent a generation or annihilation process, and the number of defects satisfies a power law time-dependent scaling behaviour N_d ∝ t^-1. At the bifurcation point, a merging or splitting process appears and N_d ∝ t^-2. These properties are in agreement with the results from Brownian dynamics simulations of the quenching processes in 2D colloidal systems with a Yukawa pair interaction.