Related papers: Local composition controls pattern formation in co…
The cellular environment, characterized by its intricate composition and spatial organization, hosts a variety of organelles, ranging from membrane-bound ones to membraneless structures that are formed through liquid-liquid phase…
A number of mechanisms that lead to the confinement of patterns to a small part of a translationally symmetric pattern-forming system are reviewed: nonadiabatic locking of fronts, global coupling and conservation laws, dispersion, and…
Biological active matter is typically tightly coupled to chemical reaction networks affecting its assembly-disassembly dynamics and stress generation. We show that localized states can emerge spontaneously if assembly of active matter is…
Individual chemically active drops suspended in a surfactant solution were observed to self-propel spontaneously with straight, helical, or chaotic trajectories. To elucidate how these drops can exhibit such strikingly different dynamics…
Amorphous materials of homogeneous structures usually suffer from nonuniform deformation under shear, which can develop into shear localization and eventually destructive shear band. One approach to tackle this issue is to introduce an…
Spontaneous self-assembly in molecular systems is a fundamental route to both biological and engineered soft matter. Simple micellisation, emulsion formation, and polymer mixing principles are well understood. However, the principles behind…
Control over the physical properties of materials is ubiquitously required in many fields. One means by which this can be achieved is controlling the internal structure of multi-component materials with an eye to enhancing mechanical…
The structure and degree of order in soft matter and other materials is intimately connected to the nature of the interactions between the particles. One important research goal is to find suitable control mechanisms, to enhance or suppress…
We investigate the collective dynamics of self-propelled droplets, confined in a one dimensional micro-fluidic channel. On one hand, neighboring droplets align and form large trains of droplets moving in the same direction. On the other…
We introduce a new experimental approach to study the structural transitions of large numbers of nanoparticle-coated droplets as their volume is reduced. We use an emulsion system where the dispersed phase is slightly soluble in the…
Controlling interfaces of phase separating fluid mixtures is key to creating diverse functional soft materials. Traditionally, this is accomplished with surface-modifying chemical agents. Using experiment and theory, we study how mechanical…
Controlling fluidic flows in active droplets is crucial in developing intelligent models to understand and mimic single-celled microorganisms. Typically, these fluidic flows are affected by the interfacial dynamics of chemical agents. We…
Biomolecular condensates are essential for cellular organization and result from phase separation in systems far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Among various models, chemically active droplets play a significant role, consisting of…
Active constituents burn fuel to sustain individual motion, giving rise to collective effects that are not seen in systems at thermal equilibrium, such as phase separation with purely repulsive interactions. There is a great potential in…
Building structures with hierarchical order through the self-assembly of smaller blocks is not only a prerogative of nature, but also a strategy to design artificial materials with tailored functions. We explore in simulation the…
Simulations show that when a phase-separated binary AB fluid is driven to flow past chemically patterned substrates in a microchannel, the fluid exhibits unique morphological instabilities. For the pattern studied, these instabilities give…
Experiments indicate that microdroplets undergoing micellar solubilization in the bulk of surfactant solution may excite Marangoni flows and self-propel spontaneously. Surprisingly, self-propulsion emerges even when the critical micelle…
We introduce a protocol for dynamical dispersion engineering in an atomic chain consisting of an ordered array of multi-level atoms with subwavelength lattice constant. This chain supports dark states that are protected from dissipation in…
Droplet impact on thin liquid films is commonly studied on quiescent surfaces, although practical systems often involve residual capillary waves generated by preceding droplets. This study examines how such traveling waves modify impact…
We report new dynamical modes in confined soft granular flows, such as stochastic jetting and dripping, with no counterpart in continuum viscous fluids. The new modes emerge as a result of the propagation of the chaotic behaviour of…