Related papers: Defect self-propulsion in active nematic films wit…
We investigate energetically favorable configurations of point disclinations in nematic films having a bump geometry. Gradual expansion in the bump width {\Delta} gives rise to a sudden shift in the stable position of the disclinations from…
One of the defining features of active nematics is that above a critical activity the quiescent state becomes unstable to a distorted, flowing one. We show that spatial variations in activity can fundamentally change the nature of this…
When a nematic liquid crystal is confined in a porous medium with strong anchoring conditions, topological defects, called disclinations, are stably formed with numerous possible configurations. Since the energy barriers between them are…
Recent numerical simulations of lid-driven cavity flow of a nematic liquid crystal have found dynamical behavior where topological defects rotate about the center of the fluid vortex induced by the lid motion. By considering a simpler…
Active nematics are dense systems of rodlike particles that consume energy to drive motion at the level of the individual particles. They exist in natural systems like biological tissues and artificial materials such as suspensions of…
The mutual drag in strongly interacting two-component superfluids in optical lattices is discussed. Two competing drag mechanisms are the vacancy-assisted motion and proximity to the quasi-molecular state, in which an integer number $q$ of…
We measure the defect density as a function of time at different temperatures in simulations of a two dimensional system of interacting particles. Just above the solid to liquid transition temperature, the power spectrum of the defect…
We consider the dynamics of active nematics droplets on flat surfaces, based on the continuum hydrodynamic theory. We investigate a wide range of dynamical regimes as a function of the activity and droplet size on surfaces characterized by…
How do topological defects affect the degree of order in active matter? To answer this question we investigate an agent-based model of self-propelled particles, which accounts for polar alignment and short-ranged repulsive interactions. For…
The transition from a nematic to an isotropic state in a self-closing spherical liquid crystal shell with tangential alignment is a stimulating phenomenon to investigate, as the topology dictates that the shell exhibits local isotropic…
We have investigated the motion of a single optically trapped colloidal particle close to a limiting wall at time scales where the inertia of the surrounding fluid plays a significant role. The velocity autocorrelation function exhibits a…
Active nematic fluids confined in narrow channels generate spontaneous flows when the activity is sufficiently intense. Recently, it was shown that if the molecular anchoring at the channel walls is conflicting flows are initiated even in…
Simulations employing the continuum model of Gao et al. [Phy. Rev. Fluids, 2 093302 (2017)] are used to study the transport of an object in a closed two-dimensional container by a dense suspension of contractile active agents. For…
Active systems, from bacterial suspensions to cellular monolayers, are continuously driven out of equilibrium by local injection of energy from their constituent elements and exhibit turbulent-like and chaotic patterns. Here we demonstrate…
We use analytic arguments and numerical solutions of the continuum, active nematohydrodynamic equations to study how friction alters the behaviour of active nematics. Concentrating on the case where there is nematic ordering in the passive…
Active nematics in two dimensions stir themselves efficiently through internally generated chaotic flows, largely driven by motile $+1/2$ disclinations. We investigate how this tendency toward chaotic fluid stirring can, counterintuitively,…
We investigate the effect of an anisotropic substrate on the turbulent dynamics of a simulated two dimensional active nematic. This is introduced as an anisotropic friction and an effective anisotropic viscosity, with the orientation of the…
Active droplets can swim spontaneously in viscous flows as a result of the non-linear convective transport of a chemical solute produced at their surface by the Marangoni and/or phoretic flows generated by this solute's inhomogeneous…
We study the linear stability of an isotropic active fluid in three different geometries: a film of active fluid on a rigid substrate, a cylindrical thread of fluid, and a spherical fluid droplet. The active fluid is modeled by the…
Cell crawling crucially depends on the collective dynamics of the acto-myosin cytoskeleton. However, it remains an open question to what extent cell polarization and persistent motion depend on continuous regulatory mechanisms and…