Polar active particles constitute a wide class of synthetic colloids that are able to propel along a preferential direction, given by their polar axis. Here, we demonstrate a generic self-phoretic mechanism that leads to their spontaneous chiralization through a symmetry breaking instability. We find that the transition of an active particle from a polar to a chiral symmetry is characterized by the emergence of active rotation and of circular trajectories. We show that the instability is driven by the advection of a solute that interacts differently with the two portions of the particle surface and it occurs through a supercritical pitchfork bifurcation.
@article{arxiv.2101.08214,
title = {Spontaneous chiralization of polar active colloids},
author = {Marco De Corato and Ignacio Pagonabarraga and Giovanniantonio Natale},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2101.08214},
year = {2021}
}