Related papers: Geometrically-controlled twist transitions in nema…
We report a molecular dynamics study on the tensile mechanics of graphene as gradually rotating the tensile direction from armchair to zigzag direction, covering the complete range of chiral directions which has never been explored so far.…
We characterise the particlelike kinematics of charge-carrying topological defects in nematic media via a geometric field theory. This differs from the theory of electromagnetism, with which it is often compared, due to the absence of…
We report a strain-controlled tuning of magnetism in transition-metal-atom-decorated graphene. Our first-principles calculations demonstrate that strain can lead to a sudden change in the magnetic configuration of a transition metal (TM)…
Bistable structures associated with non-linear deformation behavior, exemplified by the Venus flytrap and slap bracelet, can switch between different functional shapes upon actuation. Despite numerous efforts in modeling such large…
An Ising model with local Glauber dynamics is studied under the influence of additional kinetic restrictions for the spin-flip rates depending on the orientation of neighboring spins. Even when the static interaction between the spins is…
Different liquid crystalline phases with long-range orientational but not positional order, so-called nematic phases, are scarce. It rarely occurs that a new nematic phase is discovered and such event is inevitably accompanied by a great…
We predict that vertical transport in heterostructures formed by twisted graphene layers can exhibit a unique bistability mechanism. Intrinsically bistable $I$-$V$ characteristics arise from resonant tunneling and interlayer charge…
We investigate how randomly oriented cell traction forces lead to fluidisation in a vertex model of epithelial tissues. We find that the fluidisation occurs at a critical value of the traction force magnitude $F_c$. We show that this…
We discuss the Lebwohl-Lasher model of nematic liquid crystals in a confined geometry, using Monte Carlo simulation and mean-field theory. A film of material is sandwiched between two planar, parallel plates that couple to the adjacent…
This paper investigates the stability properties and performance of super-twisting sliding-mode control loops subject to periodic perturbations. Although there exist conditions on the control gains that guarantee finite-time stability of…
Cell migration in confining physiological environments relies on the concerted dynamics of several cellular components, including protrusions, adhesions with the environment, and the cell nucleus. However, it remains poorly understood how…
The Vertex Model for epithelia models the apical surface of the tissue by a tiling, with polygons representing cells and edges representing cell-cell junctions. The mechanics are described by an energy governed by deviations from a target…
Tissue homeostasis, the biological process of maintaining a steady state in tissue via control of cell proliferation, death, and metabolic function, is essential for the development, growth, maintenance, and proper function of living…
Multicellular tissues are the building blocks of many biological systems and organs. These tissues are not static, but dynamically change over time. Even if the overall structure remains the same there is a turnover of cells within the…
Motor-proteins are responsible for transport inside cells. Harnessing their activity is key towards developing new nano-technologies, or functional biomaterials. Cytoskeleton-like networks, recently tailored in vitro, result from the…
Cell deformability is an essential determinant for tissue-scale mechanical nature, such as fluidity and rigidity, and is thus crucial for understanding tissue homeostasis and stable developmental processes. However, numerical simulations…
Native membranes of biological cells display melting transitions of their lipids at a temperature of 10-20 degrees below body temperature. Such transitions can be observed in various bacterial cells, in nerves, in cancer cells, but also in…
Recent experimental studies have shown that confinement can profoundly affect self-organization in semi-dilute active suspensions, leading to striking features such as the formation of steady and spontaneous vortices in circular domains and…
Amorphous solids, confined on the nano-scale, exhibit a wealth of novel phenomena yet to be explored. In particular, the response of such solids to a mechanical load is not well understood and, as has been demonstrated experimentally, it…
Nematic tactoids are spindle-shaped droplets of a nematic phase nucleated in the co-existing isotropic phase. According to equilibrium theory, their internal structure and shape are controlled by a balance between the elastic deformation of…