Controlling active self-assembly through broken particle-shape symmetry
Name
Wensink-2014-Controlling active self-assembly.pdf
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2.74 MB
Format
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Wensink, H. H.
Goldstein, Raymond E.
Dunkel, Joern
Kantsler, Vasily
Date Issued
January 2014
Journal
Physical Review E
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Wensink, H. H., V. Kantsler, R. E. Goldstein, and J. Dunkel. “Controlling Active Self-Assembly through Broken Particle-Shape Symmetry.” Phys. Rev. E 89, no. 1 (January 2014).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Many structural properties of conventional passive materials are known to arise from the symmetries of their microscopic constituents. By contrast, it is largely unclear how the interplay between particle shape and self-propulsion controls the meso- and macroscale behavior of active matter. Here we use large-scale simulations of homo- and heterogeneous self-propelled particle systems to identify generic effects of broken particle-shape symmetry on collective motion. We find that even small violations of fore-aft symmetry lead to fundamentally different collective behaviors, which may facilitate demixing of differently shaped species as well as the spontaneous formation of stable microrotors. These results suggest that variation of particle shape yields robust physical mechanisms to control self-assembly of active matter, with possibly profound implications for biology and materials design.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.010302
