Related papers: Gliders in shape-changing active matter
We present a geometric design rule for size-controlled clustering of self-propelled particles. We show that active particles that tend to rotate under an external force have an intrinsic, signed parameter with units of curvature which we…
We report an instability of a slider slowly dragged at the surface of a granular bed in a quasistatic regime. The boat-shaped slider sits on the granular medium under its own weight and is free to translate vertically and to rotate around…
Inspired by the classical Kepler and Rutherford problem, we investigate an analogous set-up in the context of active microswimmers: the behavior of a deformable microswimmer in a swirl flow. First we identify new steady bound states in the…
Self-propelled particles have been experimentally shown to orbit spherical obstacles and move along surfaces. Here, we theoretically and numerically investigate this behavior for a hydrodynamic squirmer interacting with spherical objects…
In this paper, we study the emergence of circular formation for agents in cyclic pursuit. Each agent is a unicycle traveling at a fixed common forward speed. We first establish a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of…
We study numerically the hydrodynamics of a self-propelled particle system, consisting of spherical squirmers sedimented on a flat surface. We observe the emergence of dynamic structures, due to the interplay of particle-particle and…
We study the behaviour of interacting self-propelled particles, whose self-propulsion speed decreases with their local density. By combining direct simulations of the microscopic model with an analysis of the hydrodynamic equations obtained…
Active matter composed of energy-generating microscopic constituents is a promising platform to create autonomous functional materials. However, the very presence of these microscopic energy sources is what makes active matter prone to…
Collective states of inanimate particles self-assemble through physical interactions and thermal motion. Despite some phenomenological resemblance, including signatures of criticality, the autonomous dynamics that binds motile agents into…
We consider the excitation of the inertial modes of a uniformly rotating fully convective body due to a close encounter with another object. This could lead to a tidal capture or orbital circularisation depending on whether the initial…
At low Reynolds numbers, the hydrodynamic interaction between dumbbells driven by an external rotating field can be attractive or repulsive. Dumbbells of dissimilar asymmetric shape or different coupling to the external field undergo…
The field of synthetic active matter has, thus far, been led by efforts to create point-like, isolated (yet interacting) self-propelled objects (\emph{e.g.} colloids, droplets, microrobots) and understanding their collective dynamics. The…
Characterizing forces on deformable objects intruding into sand and soil requires understanding the solid and fluid-like responses of such substrates and their effect on the state of the object. The most detailed studies of intrusion in dry…
We study the hydrodynamics of spherical spinners suspended in a Newtonian fluid at inertial regime. We observe a spontaneous condensation of the spinners into particle rich regions, at low but finite particle Reynolds numbers and volume…
The dynamic interactions between pairs of swimming microorganisms underpin the collective behaviour of larger suspensions, but accurately calculating pairwise collisions has typically required the use of numerical simulations in which…
This article reports on emergence of structures in a class of alternative theories of gravity. These theories do not have any horizon, flatness, initial cosmological singularity and (possibly) quantization problems. The model is…
Self-consistent convective dynamo simulations in wedge-shaped spherical shells are presented. Differential rotation is generated by the interaction of convection with rotation. Equatorward acceleration and dynamo action are obtained only…
By an undirected rigid formation of mobile autonomous agents is meant a formation based on graph rigidity in which each pair of "neighboring" agents is responsible for maintaining a prescribed target distance between them. In a recent paper…
Worm-like filaments that are propelled homogeneously along their tangent vector are studied by Brownian dynamics simulations. Systems in two dimensions are investigated, corresponding to filaments adsorbed to interfaces or surfaces. A large…
Many animals and robots move using undulatory motion of their bodies. When in close proximity undulatory motion can lead to novel collective behaviors such as gait synchronization, spatial reconfiguration, and clustering. Here we study the…