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We study a binary Lennard-Jones system below the glass transition with molecular dynamics simulations. To investigate the dynamics we focus on events ("jumps") where a particle escapes the cage formed by its neighbors. Using single particle…
The presence of multiple stable states and associated nonlinear phenomena, such as hysteresis, in multistable mechanical metamaterials enables frequency-independent energy harvesting and shock absorption. This study focuses on shock…
We study the dynamics of MEMS microbeams undergoing electrostatic pull-in. At DC voltages close to the pull-in voltage, experiments and numerical simulations have reported `bottleneck' behaviour in which the transient dynamics slow down…
The failure of the population of micro-junctions forming the frictional interface between two solids is central to fields ranging from biomechanics to seismology. This failure is mediated by the propagation along the interface of various…
We present a locomotion mechanism that uses the stick-slip transition of a soft passive structure with an internal mechanical resonance. The structure is harmonically driven by a global vertical shaking and, because of its resonance…
Substrate defects crucially influence the onset of sliding drop motion under lateral driving. A finite force is necessary to overcome the pinning influence even of microscale heterogeneities. The depinning dynamics of three-dimensional…
The mystery behind the bird nest's construction is not well understood. Our study focuses on the stability of a self-supporting nest-like structure. Firstly, we derived a stable/unstable phase boundary for the structure at the fixed…
It is well known that a solid (e.g. wood or rubber) can be put under tensile stress by pulling on it. Once a critical stress is overcome, the solid breaks, leaving an empty space. Similarly, due to internal cohesion, a liquid can withstand…
We study the critical phenomena of the dynamical transition from a metastable state to a stable state in the model of first-order phase transition via two different triggering mechanisms. Three universal stages during the fully nonlinear…
From the mitotic spindle up to tissues and biofilms, many biological systems behave as active droplets, which often break symmetry and change shape spontaneously. Here, I show that active nematic droplets can experience a fingering…
Strong eastward jets at the equator have been observed in many planetary atmospheres and simulated in numerical models of varying complexity. However, the nature of the transition from a conventional state of the general circulation, with…
The dynamics of filaments in flow are central to understanding a wide range of biological and soft-matter systems, yet their behavior under time-dependent forcing remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the long-time dynamics of…
Topological singularities occur in a broad range of physical systems, including collapsing stars and pinching fluid interfaces. They are important for being able to concentrate energy into a small region. Underwater air bubbles in…
Most, but not all, liquid crystals tend to align when subject to shear flow, while most nematic polymeric liquid crystals undergo a tumbling instability, where the director rotate with the flow. The reasons of this instability remain…
Hummingbirds and insects achieve outstanding flight performance by adapting their flapping motion to the flight requirements. Their wing kinematics can change from smooth flapping to highly dynamic waveforms, generating unsteady aerodynamic…
Vibro-impact (VI) systems provide a promising nonlinear mechanism for energy harvesting (EH) in many engineering applications. Here, we consider a VI-EH system that consists of an inclined cylindrical capsule that is externally forced and a…
We report optical trapping and transport of nanoparticles in a moving interference pattern in hollow-core photonic crystal fiber at atmospheric pressure, when competition between trapping and drag forces causes the particle velocity to…
We theoretically explore the dynamical properties of a first-order dissipative phase transition in coherently driven Bose-Hubbard systems, describing, e.g., lattices of coupled nonlinear optical cavities. Via stochastic trajectory…
Fully three-dimensional, time-dependent, direct simulations of the non-ideal Navier-Stokes equations for a two-component fluid, shed light into the mechanism which inhibits droplet breakup in step emulsifiers below a critical threshold of…
Synaptic plasticity, the dynamic tuning of signal transmission strength between neurons, serves as a fundamental basis for memory and learning in biological organisms. This adaptive nature of synapses is considered one of the key features…