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Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Interfacial Molecular-level Structures of Polymers and Biomacromolecules Revealed via Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy
Published on: August 13, 2019
Active chiral processes in thin films
S Fürthauer1, M Strempel1, S W Grill1
1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Nöthnitzer Straße 38, 01187 Dresden, Germany and Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstraße 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
Abstract:
We develop a generic description of thin active films that captures key features of flow and rotation patterns emerging from the activity of chiral motors which introduce torque dipoles. We highlight the role of the spin rotation field and show that fluid flows can occur in two ways: by coupling of the spin rotation rate to the velocity field via a surface or by spatial gradients of the spin rotation rate. We discuss our results in the context of patches of bacteria on solid surfaces and groups of rotating cilia. Our theory could apply to active chiral processes in the cell cytoskeleton and in epithelia.
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