English

Collective behavior of active molecules: dynamic clusters, holes and active fractalytes

Soft Condensed Matter 2023-08-04 v1

Abstract

Recent experiments have led to active colloidal molecules which aggregate from non-motile building blocks and acquire self-propulsion through their non-reciprocal interactions. Here, we model the collective behavior of such active molecules and predict, besides dynamic clusters, the existence of a so-far unknown state of active matter made of 'active fractalytes' which are motile crystallites featuring internal holes, gaps and a fractal dimension. These structures could serve as a starting point for the creation of active materials with a low density and mechanical properties that can be designed through their fractal internal structure.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2308.01667,
  title  = {Collective behavior of active molecules: dynamic clusters, holes and active fractalytes},
  author = {Sebastian Fehlinger and Benno Liebchen},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2308.01667},
  year   = {2023}
}