Colloidal crystals on a wire: global curvature constraints at finite temperature

A two dimensional crystal on the surface of a cylindrical wire is frustrated by a global commensurability constraint, and as a result typically incorporates an extended one dimensional chiral line-slip defect in its ground state. Using both experiment and simulation we investigate the kinetics of crystal growth and evolution at finite temperature, and find that single crystal regions have a characteristic length determined by minimal stability against thermal fluctuations and random stress transmitted across grain boundaries. In addition, we observe a new class of chiral defects at finite temperature that roughen the line slip and modify the effective interactions between line slip defects and grain boundaries.