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Research Highlight | Materials Science

Polar state memory in active fluids

In a study published in Nature Physics, researchers provide fundamental insights into the emergence of spatial and temporal coherence in active fluids with interacting self-propelled particles.

Scientific Achievement

The evidence of a collective state memory in active liquids has been revealed. Systematic control over subsequent self-organized polar states via temporal modulation of the activity is realized.

Significance and Impact

The work provides fundamental insights into the emergence of spatial and temporal coherence in active liquids, and suggests new design pathways for control of dynamic collective states by activity modulations.

Research Details

  • Quincke rollers emerge due to spontaneous dielectric particle rotations in a static electric field.
  • Interplay of hydrodynamic and electrostatic interactions creates hidden asymmetries in the local particle positional order encoding the global chiral state of the system.
  • Complex collective behavior is captured by a particle-based simulation model of Quincke rollers suspensions.

DOI: 10.1038/s41567-021-01442-6

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