2025/04/13 by Ahmet Umut Akduman, Akduman, Ahmet Umut, Yusuf Sariyar +5
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Materials and Mechanics #FOS: Physical sciences #Micro and Nano Robotics #Pickering emulsions and particle stabilization #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2504.09693
openalex publication_date 2025/04/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/14 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Active nematics are out-of-equilibrium systems in which energy injection at the microscale drives emergent collective behaviors, from spontaneous flows to active turbulence. While the dynamics of these systems have been extensively studied, their potential for controlling the organization of embedded soft particles remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigate how passive droplets suspended in an active nematic fluid self-organize under varying activity levels and packing fractions. Through numerical simulations, we uncover a rich phase diagram featuring dynamic clustering, activity-induced gelation, and a novel inverse motility-induced phase separation regime where activity stabilizes dense droplet assemblies. Crucially, we demonstrate that temporal modulation of activity enables precise control over structural morphological transitions. Our results suggest new routes to design adaptive smart materials with tunable microstructure and dynamics, bridging active nematics with applications in programmable colloidal assembly and bio-inspired material design.