Clustering of topological defects in two-dimensional melting of active and passive disks

Abstract: We provide a quantitative analysis of all kinds of topological defects present in 2D passive and active repulsive disk systems. We show that the passage from the solid to the hexatic is driven by the unbinding of dislocations. Instead, although we see dissociation of disclinations as soon as the liquid phase appears, extended clusters of defects largely dominate below the solid-hexatic critical line. The latter percolate at the hexatic-liquid transition in continuous cases or within the coexistence region in discontinuous ones, and their form gets more ramified for increasing activity.