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We consider two minimal models of active fluid droplets that exhibit complex dynamics including steady motion, deformation, rotation and oscillating motion. First we consider a droplet with a concentration of active contractile matter…
Biological cells utilize membranes and liquid-like droplets, known as biomolecular condensates, to structure their interior. The interaction of droplets and membranes, despite being involved in several key biological processes, is so far…
The excitation spectrum of the density collective oscillations is computed for multi-component molecular mixtures both with Coulomb and (repulsive) short-range interactions. Distinct sound-like excitations appear, governed by the…
We present a theory of active, permeating, polar gels, based on a two-fluid model. An active relative force between the gel components creates a steady-state current. We analyze its stability, while considering two polar coupling terms to…
The origin of the dramatic changes in the behavior of liquids as they approach their vitreous state - increases of many orders of magnitude in transport properties and dynamic time scales - is a major unsolved problem in condensed matter.…
Freestanding tubular crystals offer a general description of crystalline order on deformable surfaces with cylindrical topology, such as single-walled carbon nanotubes, microtubules, and recently reported colloidal assemblies. These systems…
We use dedicated microfluidic devices to expose soft hydrogel particles to a rapid change in the externally applied osmotic pressure and observe a non-monotonic response: After an initial rapid compression the particle slowly reswells to…
We investigate the oscillatory dynamics and bifurcation structure of a reaction-diffusion system with bistable nonlinearity and mass conservation, which was proposed by [Otsuji et al, PLoS Comp. Biol. 3 (2007), e108]. The system is a useful…
We use the ``isoconfigurational ensemble'' [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 93}, 135701 (2004)] to analyze both dynamical and structural properties in simulations of a glass forming molecular liquid. We show that spatially correlated clusters of low…
To explore and react to their environment, living micro-swimmers have developed sophisticated strategies for locomotion - in particular, motility with multiple gaits. To understand the physical principles associated with such a behavioural…
In the perspective of developing smart hybrid materials with customized features, ferrogels and magnetorheological elastomers allow a synergy of elasticity and magnetism. The interplay between elastic and magnetic properties gives rise to a…
Active droplets swim as a result of the nonlinear advective coupling of the distribution of chemical species they consume or release with the Marangoni flows created by their non-uniform surface distribution. Most existing models focus on…
We study the evolution of a two component fluid consisting of ``blue'' and ``red'' particles which interact via strong short range (hard core) and weak long range pair potentials. At low temperatures the equilibrium state of the system is…
Microscopic active droplets are able to swim autonomously in viscous flows: this puzzling feature stems from solute exchanges with the surrounding fluid via surface reactions or their spontaneous solubilisation, and the interfacial flows…
During oscillatory wetting, a phase retardation emerges between contact angle variation and contact line velocity, presenting as a hysteresis loop in their correlation -- an effect we term dynamic hysteresis. This phenomenon is found to be…
Fundamental biological and biomimetic processes, from tissue morphogenesis to soft robotics, rely on the propagation of chemical and mechanical surface waves to signal and coordinate active force generation. The complex interplay between…
The elastic properties of granular hydrogels are commonly characterised under wet conditions, yet the influence of capillary interactions remains unclear. In practical applications, hydrogels operate in aqueous environments containing…
We derive the Hydrodynamics for a system of N active, spherical, underdamped particles, interacting through conservative forces. At the microscopic level, we represent the evolution of the particles in terms of the Kramers equation for the…
Soft colloids are increasingly used as model systems to address fundamental issues such as crystallisation and the glass and jamming transitions. Among the available classes of soft colloids, microgels are emerging as the gold standard.…
The patterns arising from the differential swelling of gels are investigated experimentally and theoretically as a model for the differential growth of living tissues. Two geometries are considered: a thin strip of soft gel clamped to a…