{
  "abstract": "Topological defects are commonly characterized by their charge, although defects with the same charge can have different internal morphologies. We study the annihilation of isolated $\\pm1$ defect pairs in a two-dimensional compressible Toner--Tu model, varying the morphology of the $+1$ defect while keeping the initial charges and separation fixed. Activity produces a morphology-dependent mobility asymmetry: reversing the radial orientation of an aster reverses which defect travels farther, and asters show the strongest response. An early-time analysis reveals that the initial morphology selects distinct density modes whose gradients subsequently feed back on the polarization. Consistently, removing the density-gradient coupling strongly suppresses the asymmetry. These results establish defect morphology, in addition to topological charge, as a dynamical variable governing defect-pair motion in active polar matter.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2611.04428",
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Abhra Puitandy"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shradha Mishra"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2s84zb69nas7x.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2611.04428",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "2s84zb69nas7x",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.04428",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.soft"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.stat-mech"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2611.04428",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-03",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2s84zb69nas7x.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:21:25Z",
      "native_id": "2611.04428",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.04428"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.soft",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.stat-mech",
      "subfield": "statistical-nonlinear"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Topology Does Not Determine Defect Mobility in Active Polar Matter",
  "title_text": "Topology Does Not Determine Defect Mobility in Active Polar Matter",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T18:21:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2s84zb69nas7x",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}