Dissipative Dynamics of Volterra Disclinations

The dissipative dynamics of a system of particles subject to a fourth order potential field modeling the evolution of wedge disclinations is studied, focusing on finite systems of disclinations within a circular domain. Existence theorems for the trajectories of these disclinations are presented, considering both the dynamics without predefined preferred directions of motion in an isotropic medium and the dynamics in which the disclinations move parallel to predefined directions, modeling a crystalline material. The analysis is illustrated with a number of numerical solutions to demonstrate various relevant configurations.