Related papers: Soliton-induced liquid crystal enabled electrophor…

We demonstrate that a staggered parametric ac driving term can support stable progressive motion of a soliton in a Toda lattice with friction, while an unstaggered drivng force cannot. A physical context of the model is that of a chain of…

Microscale transport often relies on ubiquitous yet intrinsically random thermal fluctuations. Understanding how such fluctuations can be biased into directed motion has long been a central theme of nonequilibrium physics. Here, we…

Locally broken symmetries are used across fields to transport matter, particles and information in preferential directions. Beyond local mechanisms, spatially distributed nonlinearities in crystalline media have enabled non-reciprocal…

We explore a generic mechanism whereby a droplet of active matter acquires motility by the spontaneous breakdown of a discrete symmetry. The model we study offers a simple representation of a "cell extract" comprising, e.g., a droplet of…

While electrons moving perpendicular to a magnetic field are confined to cyclotron orbits, they can move freely parallel to the field. This simple fact leads to complex current flow in clean, low carrier density semi-metals, such as…

We study the self-diffusiophoresis of a spherical chemically active particle near a planar, impermeable wall, with a focus on the influence of particle orientation on propulsion. We analyze a Janus particle with asymmetric surface chemical…

Different phoretic driving mechanisms have been proposed for the transport of solid or liquid microscopic inclusions in integrated chemical processes. However, the ability to reversibly address both the flow path, rate, and local reactant…

We study the influence of laser radiation on the electron transport through a molecular wire weakly coupled to two leads. In the absence of a generalized parity symmetry, the molecule rectifies the laser induced current, resulting in…

Charge migration is the electronic response that immediately follows localized ionization or excitation in a molecule, before the nuclei have time to move. It typically unfolds on sub-femtosecond time scales and most often corresponds to…

We characterize the electro-phoretic motion of charged sphere suspensions in the presence of substantial electro-osmotic flow using a recently introduced small angle super-heterodyne dynamic light scattering instrument (ISASH-LDV).…

We observe novel positional control of a colloidal particle in microchannel flow of a nematic liquid crystal. Lattice Boltzmann simulations show multiple equilibrium particle positions, the existence and position of which are tunable using…

We consider orientation mechanisms for block copolymers in an electric field. Theoretical and experimental studies have shown that nonuniformity of the dielectric constant gives rise to a preferred orientation of the melt with respect to…

Unrestricted particle transport through microfluidic channels is of paramount importance to a wide range of applications, including lab-on-a-chip devices. In this article, we study using video microscopy the electro-osmotic aggregation of…

In this Account, we describe how synthetic motors that operate by self-diffusiophoresis make use of a self-generated concentration gradient to drive motor motion. A description of propulsion by self-diffusiophoresis is presented for Janus…

We propose a sigma_z-symmetry-preserving approach to achieve Janus bound states in the continuum (Janus BICs) exhibiting asymmetric topological charges in the upward and downward radiation channels. While prior approaches typically involve…

The interplay between crystal symmetry and its optical responses is at the heart of tremendous recent advances in light-matter interactions and applications. Nonlinear optical processes that produce electric currents, for example bulk…

Using atomistic simulations, we investigate the dynamical behavior of a single skyrmion interacting with an asymmetric linear protrusion array under external ac driving. When the ac drive is applied along the $x$ direction, the skyrmion…

Since a long time the application of small electric potentials on biological membranes (iontophoresis) proved enabling control and improvement of transdermal delivery of substances across this barrier. In spite of a large experimental data,…

A nematic liquid-crystal cell subject to an electric field created by electrodes held at constant potential is modeled as a variable capacitor in an RC circuit. The state of the system is characterized in terms of the director field in the…

While active systems possess notable potential to form the foundation of new classes of autonomous materials, designing systems that can extract functional work from active surroundings has proven challenging. In this work, we extend these…