Related papers: Active rotational dynamics of a self-diffusiophore…
The fabrication of synthetic self-propelled particles and the experimental investigations of their dynamics have stimulated interest in self-generated phoretic effects that propel nano- and micron-scale objects. Theoretical modeling of…
Active colloidal particles that are propelled by a self-diffusiophoretic mechanism are often described by Langevin equations that are either postulated on physical grounds or derived using the methods of fluctuating hydrodynamics. While…
The dynamics of self-propelled colloidal particles are strongly influenced by their environment through hydrodynamic and, in many cases, chemical interactions. We develop a theoretical framework to describe the motion of confined active…
Dynamics of active deformable particles in an external Poiseuille flow is investigated. In order to make the analysis general, we employ time-evolution equations derived from symmetry considerations that take into account an elliptical…
Here we demonstrate a synthetic micro-engine, based on long-range controlled movement of colloidal particles, which is induced by a local catalytic reaction. The directed motion at long timescales was achieved by placing specially designed…
Very small synthetic motors that make use of chemical reactions to propel themselves in solution hold promise for new applications in the development of new materials, science and medicine. The prospect of such potential applications, along…
Designing microscopic and nanoscopic self-propelled particles and characterising their motion has become a major scientific challenge over the past decades. To this purpose, phoretic effects, namely propulsion mechanisms relying on local…
Like ordinary molecules are composed of atoms, colloidal molecules consist of several species of colloidal particles tightly bound together. If one of these components is self-propelled or swimming, novel "active colloidal molecules"…
Active colloids, also known as artificial microswimmers, are self-propelled micro and nanoparticles that convert uniform sources of fuel (e.g. chemical) or uniform external driving fields (e.g. magnetic or electric) into directed motion by…
Exploiting the energy of randomly moving active agents such as bacteria is a fascinating way to power a microdevice. Here we show, by simulations, that a chain-grafted disk-like colloid can rotate unidirectionally when immersed in a thin…
Living systems routinely consume energy to achieve motility, often using intricate biomolecular machinery. In this work, we show that active droplets can sustain indefinite self-propulsion of a spherical colloid in an otherwise homogeneous,…
Dynamics of molecular motors that move along linear lattices and interact with them via reversible destruction of specific lattice bonds is investigated theoretically by analyzing exactly solvable discrete-state ``burnt-bridge'' models.…
We discover a new type of nonequilibrium phase transition in a model of chromatin dynamics, which accounts for the coherent motions that have been observed in experiment. The coherent motion is due to the long-range cooperation of molecular…
Active fluids comprise a variety of systems composed of elements immersed in a fluid environment which can convert some form of energy into directed motion; as such they are intrinsically out-of-equilibrium in the absence of any external…
Harnessing active matter requires strategies that break the directional symmetry of self-propelled motion without altering the propulsion mechanism itself. Here, we show that magnetically inert spherical active colloids can be steered…
The dynamics and pair trajectory of two self-propelled colloids are reported. The autonomous motions of the colloids are due to a catalytic chemical reaction taking place asymmetrically on their surfaces that generates a concentration…
Colloidal motors without moving parts can be propelled by self-diffusiophoresis, coupling molecular concentration gradients generated by surface chemical reactions to the velocity slip between solid Janus particles and the surrounding fluid…
Active solids combine internal active driving with elasticity to realize states with nonequilibrium mechanics and autonomous motion. They are often studied in overdamped settings, e.g., in soft materials, and the role of inertia is less…
The motion of an artificial micro-scale swimmer that uses a chemical reaction catalyzed on its own surface to achieve autonomous propulsion is fully characterized experimentally. It is shown that at short times, it has a substantial…
Microscopic dynamical aspects of the propulsion of nanomotors by self-phoretic mechanisms are considered. Propulsion by self-diffusiophoresis relies on the mechanochemical coupling between the fluid velocity field and the concentration…