2022/06/08 by Brato Chakrabarti, Michael Shelley, Chakrabarti, Brato +3
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Micro and Nano Robotics #Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2206.04035
openalex publication_date 2022/06/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Many active biological particles, such as swimming microorganisms or motor-proteins, do work on their environment by going though a periodic sequence of shapes. Interactions between particles can lead to the phase-synchronization of their duty cycles. Here we consider collective dynamics in a suspension of such active particles coupled through hydrodynamics. We demonstrate that the emergent non-equilibrium states feature stationary patterned flows and robust unidirectional pumping states under confinement. Moreover the phase-synchronized state of the suspension exhibits spatially robust chimera patterns in which synchronized and phase-isotropic regions coexist within the same system. These findings demonstrate a new route to pattern formation and could guide the design of new active materials.