Topological Solitons in Helical Strings

TL;DR

This paper explores the complex dynamics of topological solitons in helical strings, revealing how domain interactions influence particle-like behavior in constrained one-dimensional systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analysis of kink dynamics in topologically constrained helical structures, connecting domain behavior with soliton motion.

Findings

Domain dynamics can be integrated into a one-particle framework.

Energy and momentum are distributed across domains, not localized in solitons.

Kinks between helical structures exhibit non-trivial motion influenced by topological constraints.

Abstract

The low-energy physics of (quasi)degenerate one-dimensional systems is typically understood as the particle-like dynamics of kinks between stable, ordered structures. Such dynamics, we show, becomes highly non-trivial when the ground states are topologically constrained: a dynamics of the domains rather than on the domains which the kinks separate. Motivated by recently reported observations of charged polymers physisorbed on nanotubes, we study kinks between helical structures of a string wrapping around a cylinder. While their motion cannot be disentangled from domain dynamics, and energy and momentum is not concentrated in the solitons, the dynamics of the domains can be folded back into a one-particle picture.