Related papers: Emergent comet-like swarming of optically driven t…
Optothermal interaction of active colloidal matter can facilitate environmental cues which can influence the dynamics of active soft matter systems. The optically induced thermal effect can be harnessed to study non-equilibrium…
Colloids with patchy metal coating under laser irradiation could act as local sources of heat due to the absorption of light. While for asymmetric colloids this could induce self-propulsion, it also leads to the generation of a slowly…
Combining experiments and computer simulations, we use a spatially periodic and flashing light-field to direct the motion of phototactic active colloids. Here, the colloids self-organize into a density spike pattern, which resembles a shock…
Light-activated self-propelled colloids are synthesized and their active motion is studied using optical microscopy. We propose a versatile route using different photoactive materials, and demonstrate a multiwavelength activation and…
We study the universal behavior of a class of active colloids whose design is inspired by the collective dynamics of natural systems like schools of fish and flocks of birds. These colloids, with off-center repulsive interaction sites,…
We demonstrate a novel method to assemble and transport swarms of colloidal particles by combining liquid crystals enabled electrophoresis and photo-sensitive surface patterning. Colloidal particles are propelled in a nematic liquid crystal…
Artificial soft matter systems have appeared as important tools to harness mechanical motion for microscale manipulation. Typically, this motion is driven either by the external fields or by mutual interaction between the colloids. In the…
We introduce a novel type of self-bound droplet which carries an emergent color charge. We consider a system of particles hopping on a lattice and interacting via a commensurately sign-changing potential which is attractive at a short…
Many living and artificial systems show a similar emergent behavior and collective motions on different scales, starting from swarms of bacteria to synthetic active particles, herds of mammals and crowds of people. What all these systems…
We undertake a systematic numerical exploration of self-organized states in a deterministic model of interacting self-propelled particles in two dimensions. In the process, we identify various types of collective motion, namely, disordered…
Self-propelled phoretic colloids have recently emerged as a promising avenue for the design of artificial swimmers. These swimmers combine purely phoretic interactions with intricate hydrodynamics which critically depend on the swimmer…
Directional motion is commonly observed in various living active systems, such as bacterial colonies moving through confined environments. In these systems, the dynamics arise from the collective effects of mutual interactions between…
Light-activated colloidal assembly and swarming can act as model systems to explore non-equilibrium state of matter. In this context, creating new experimental platforms to facilitate and control two-dimensional assembly of colloidal…
We experimentally demonstrate the emergence of directional rotation in thermally active-passive colloidal structures under optical confinement. The observed handedness of rotation of the structure can be controlled by changing the relative…
Catalytically active colloids maintain non-equilibrium conditions in which they produce and deplete chemicals and hence effectively act as sources and sinks of molecules. While individual colloids that are symmetrically coated do not…
Swarms of self-propelled particles exhibit complex behavior that can arise from simple models, with large changes in swarm behavior resulting from small changes in model parameters. We investigate the steady-state swarms formed by…
A heterogeneous and dilute suspension of catalytically active colloids is studied as a non-equilibrium analogue of ionic systems, which has the remarkable feature of action-reaction symmetry breaking. Symmetrically coated colloids are found…
This paper explores a novel connection between a thermodynamic and a dynamical systems perspective on emergent dynamical order. We provide evidence for a conjecture that Hamiltonian systems with mixed chaos spontaneously find regular…
We study here how phase transitions are induced in colloidal suspensions by a point-like heat source, an optically trapped metal oxide particle absorbing light. We find that thermophoresis increases the number density of colloids around the…
Motile living organisms routinely probe their surroundings to adapt in ever-evolving environments. Although synthetic microswimmers offer surrogates for self-propelled living entities, they often lack the complex feedback mechanisms that…