Related papers: Active Solids Model: Rigid Body Motion and Shape-c…

We present a theoretical and computational model for the behavior of a porous solid undergoing two interdependent processes, the finite deformation of a solid and species migration through the solid, which are distinct in bulk and on…

When an amorphous solid is deformed homogeneously, the response exhibits heterogeneous plastic instabilities with localized cooperative rearrangement of cluster of particles. The heterogeneous behavior plays an important role in deciding…

Systems of active particles can show a large variety of collective behavior. In theory, two aspects determine the collective behavior: the model at the particle level and the parameter regime. While many studies consider a single model and…

Active matter is a term encompassing particle-based assemblies with some form of self-propulsion, including certain biological systems as well as synthetic systems such as artificial colloidal swimmers, all of which can exhibit a remarkable…

Architected metamaterials such as foams and lattices exhibit a wide range of properties governed by microstructural instabilities and emerging phase transformations. Their macroscopic response--including energy dissipation during impact,…

We use a computational phase-field model together with analytical analysis to study how inter-cellular active forces can mediate individual cell morphology and collective motion in a confluent cell monolayer. Contractile inter-cellular…

Slender bodies capable of spontaneous motion in the absence of external actuation in an otherwise quiescent fluid are common in biological, physical and technological contexts. The interplay between the spontaneous fluid flow, Brownian…

We review theoretical models of individual motility as well as collective dynamics and pattern formation of active particles. We focus on simple models of active dynamics with a particular emphasis on nonlinear and stochastic dynamics of…

There is current interest in developing photoactive materials that deform on illumination and can thus be used for photomechanical actuation. This is attractive since it can be affected at a distance, different frequencies can be used to…

The production of mechanical stresses in living organisms largely relies on localized, force-generating active units embedded in filamentous matrices. Numerical simulations of discrete fiber networks with fixed boundaries have shown that…

Active tissues exhibit tension fluctuations that are correlated in space and time. We study a minimal overdamped surface model in which such fluctuations enter as a zero-mean, multiplicative modulation of the local surface tension. Although…

This paper describes a 2D and 3D simulation engine that quantitatively models the statics, dynamics, and non-linear deformation of heterogeneous soft bodies in a computationally efficient manner. There is a large body of work simulating…

Rigidity is an emergent property of materials - it is not a feature of individual components that comprise the structure, but instead arises from interactions between many constituent parts. Recently, it has been recognized that…

We consider a continuum model of active viscoelastic matter, whereby an active nematic liquid-crystal is coupled to a minimal model of polymer dynamics with a viscoelastic relaxation time $\tau_C$. To explore the resulting interplay between…

From the complex motions of robots to the oxygen binding of hemoglobin, the function of many mechanical systems depends on large, coordinated movements of their components. Such movements arise from a network of physical interactions in the…

Soft-granular media, such as dense emulsions, foams or tissues, exhibit either fluid- or solid-like properties depending on the applied external stresses. Whereas bulk rheology of such materials has been thoroughly investigated, the…

The study of active solids offers a window into the mechanics and thermodynamics of dense living matter. A key aspect of the non-equilibrium dynamics of such active systems is a mechanistic description of how the underlying mechano-chemical…

Epithelial cell clusters often move collectively on a substrate. Mechanical signals play a major role in organizing this behavior. There are a number of experimental observations in these systems which await a comprehensive explanation.…

We perform numerical simulations of isolated, partially active polymers, driven out-of-equilibrium by a fraction of their monomers. We show that, if the active beads are all gathered in a contiguous block, the position of the section along…

Designing robotic systems that can change their physical form factor as well as their compliance to adapt to environmental constraints remains a major conceptual and technical challenge. To address this, we introduce the Granulobot, a…