Related papers: Light-Activated Self-thermophoretic Janus Nanoprop…
The dynamics of self-propelled colloidal particles are strongly influenced by their environment through hydrodynamic and, in many cases, chemical interactions. We develop a theoretical framework to describe the motion of confined active…
Active matter classifies systems consisting of self-propelled units which convert the energy stored locally or extracted from their environment into directed motion. It has recently attracted considerable attention due to rich new physics…
Self-organisation is driven by the interactions between the individual components of a system mediated by the environment, and is one of the most important strategies used by many biological systems to develop complex and functional…
Experimental realizations of self-propelled colloidal Janus particles exploit the conversion of free energy into directed motion. One route are phoretic mechanisms that can be modeled schematically as the interconversion of two chemical…
A beam of free alkali metal nanoparticles is produced by a condensation source, passed through a thermalizing tube adjustable over a broad temperature range, and ionized by tunable light. High stability of the particle flux and an automated…
In a sharp contrast to the response of silica particles we show that the metal-dielectric Janus particles with boojum defects in a nematic liquid crystal are self-propelled under the action of an electric field applied perpendicular to the…
We create controllable active particles in the form of metal-dielectric Janus colloids which acquire motility through a nematic liquid crystal film by transducing the energy of an imposed perpendicular AC electric field. We achieve complete…
Active particles affect their environment as much as the environment affects their active motion. Here, we present an experimental system where both can be simultaneously adjusted in situ using an external AC electric field. The environment…
Active Janus particles suspended in a plasma were studied experimentally. The Janus particles were micron-size plastic microspheres, one half of which was coated with a thin layer of platinum. They were suspended in the plasma sheath of a…
We assess the potentiality of several geometries of metallic nanodimers (one of the simplest thermoplasmonic systems) as candidates for active particles (nanoswimmers) propelled and controlled by light (phototaxis). The studied nanodimers…
We study both experimentally and theoretically the dynamics of chemically self-propelled Janus colloids moving atop a two-dimensional crystalline surface. The surface is a hexagonally close-packed monolayer of colloidal particles of the…
Controlled trapping of light absorbing nanoparticles with low-power optical tweezers is crucial for remote manipulation of small objects. This study takes advantage of the synergetic effects of tightly confined local fields of plasmonic…
Micron-sized particles moving through solution in response to self-generated chemical gradients serve as model systems for studying active matter. Their far-reaching potential applications will require the particles to sense and respond to…
Spherical Janus particles are one of the most prominent examples for active Brownian objects. Here, we study the diffusiophoretic motion of such microswimmers in experiment and in theory. Three stages are found: simple Brownian motion at…
We investigate coarse-grained models of suspended self-thermophoretic microswimmers. Upon heating, the Janus spheres, with hemispheres made of different materials, induce a heterogeneous local solvent temperature that causes the…
We theoretically study the self-propulsion of a laser-heated Janus particle in a near critical waterlutidine mixture, and relate its velocity vp and squirmer parameter \b{eta} to the wetting properties of its two hemispheres. For non-ionic…
We study the collective motion of Janus particles in a temperature or concentration gradient. Because of the torque exerted by an external or self-generated field, the particles align their axis on this gradient. In a swarm of self-driven…
Optical forces - studied since the earliest days of laser physics - continue to reveal rich dynamics and enable powerful tools for manipulation of objects on micro- and nanoscales, and even individual atoms. Lateral optical forces, which…
Janus particles have flourished as subject of intensive research due to their synergetic properties and their promising use in different fields, especially in biomedicine. The combination of materials with radically different physical…
A single light-driven Janus particle confined in a very thin oil droplet at an air--water interface displays intriguing dynamics. While laser activation induces rapid horizontal motion (1mm/s--1cm/s) by thermal Marangoni flow, the particle…