Related papers: Active elastocapillarity in soft solids with negat…
We consider the steady-state analysis of a pinned elastic plate lying on the free surface of a thin viscous fluid, forced by the motion of a bottom substrate moving at constant speed. A mathematical model incorporating elasticity,…
With exquisite precision and reproducibility, cells orchestrate the cooperative action of thousands of nanometer-sized molecular motors to carry out mechanical tasks at much larger length scales, such as cell motility, division and…
The response of amorphous solids to a mechanical perturbation consists in an elastic and a plastic deformation. The latter is mediated by localized irreversible rearrangements associated with Eshelby-like quadrupolar singularities in the…
A body immersed in a nematic liquid crystal disturbs the fluid's preferred molecular configuration and increases its stored elastic energy. In an active nematic, the fluid components also generate a stress in the bulk fluid. By introducing…
In common fluids, viscosity is associated with dissipation. However, when time-reversal-symmetry is broken a new type of non-dissipative `viscosity' may emerge. Recent theories and experiments on classical 2D systems with active spinning…
We present a generic framework for modelling three-dimensional deformable shells of active matter that captures the orientational dynamics of the active particles and hydrodynamic interactions on the shell and with the surrounding…
The spontaneous creation of disclinations is a defining characteristic of active nematics, which is rarely observed in equilibrium systems or other active matter systems. Thus, understanding the mechanics of disclinations is crucial for…
The adhesion between dry solid surfaces is typically governed by contact forces, involving surface forces and elasticity. For surfaces immersed in a fluid, out-of-contact adhesion arises due to the viscous resistance to the opening of the…
Understanding the contact dynamics of nonspherical particles beyond the microscale is crucial for accurately modeling colloidal and granular systems, where shape anisotropy dictates structural organization and transport properties. In this…
Active matter exhibits striking behaviour reminiscent of living matter and molecular fluids, and has promising applications in drug delivery or mixing at the micron scale. Active colloidal systems provide important models with simple and…
We have developed several distinct model systems of microtubule-based 3D active isotropic fluids and have compared their dynamical and structural properties. The non-equilibrium dynamics of these fluids is powered by three different types…
We study how a fluctuating domain wall in three dimensions modifies bulk observables in a gapped phase. We introduce an effective interaction between the wall and the lightest bulk massive mode, and identify the regime in which this…
In these Lecture Notes we aim at clarifying how soft matter physics, and herein notably statistical mechanics and fluid mechanics, can be engaged to understand and manipulate non-equilibrium systems consisting of numerous (microscopic)…
While equilibrium interfaces display universal large-scale statistics, interfaces in phase-separated active and driven systems are predicted to belong to distinct non-equilibrium universality classes. Yet, such behavior has proven difficult…
We study the interaction of small hydrophobic particles on the surface of an ultra-soft elastic gel, in which a small amount of elasticity of the medium balances the weights of the particles. The excess energy of the surface of the deformed…
We experimentally study linear and nonlinear waves on the surface of a fluid covered by an elastic sheet where both tension and flexural waves take place. An optical method is used to obtain the full space-time wave field, and the…
Elastic strips provide a canonical system for studying the mechanisms governing elastic shape transitions. Buckling, linear snap-through, and nonlinear snap-through have been observed in boundary-actuated strips and linked to the type of…
Instabilities of fluid-fluid interfaces are ubiquitous in passive soft matter. Adding activity to the interface or either fluid can dramatically change the stability of the interface. Using experiment and theory, we investigate the…
Spreading processes on top of active dynamics provide a novel theoretical framework for capturing emerging collective behavior in living systems. I consider run-and-tumble dynamics coupled with coagulation/decoagulation reactions that lead…
In the last years self-motile droplets attracted the attention of scientists from different fields ranging from applied biology to theoretical physics, because of their promising technological applications and important biological…