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Updated: Jan 5, 2026
12:34
Methods for Measuring the Orientation and Rotation Rate of 3D-printed Particles in Turbulence
Published on: June 24, 2016
10.5K
Rotation and propulsion in 3D active chiral droplets
Livio Nicola Carenza1, Giuseppe Gonnella2, Davide Marenduzzo3
1Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Bari and Istituto Nazioneale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari, Bari I-70126, Italy; livio.carenza@ba.infn.it.
Summary
Active chiral liquid crystal droplets exhibit complex behaviors. Internal forces and torques drive screw-like motion and tunable rotations, revealing new insights into active chiral systems.
Area of Science:
- Soft Matter Physics
- Active Matter Systems
- Chirality in Nature
Background:
- Chirality is fundamental to biological systems and active processes.
- Active systems like bacterial flagella and microtubule bundles are intrinsically chiral.
- The interplay between chirality and motility in active systems requires further exploration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of internal active forces and torques on 3D cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) droplets.
- To understand the complex behaviors of active CLC droplets beyond simple rotation.
- To explore the coupling of defect dynamics, thermodynamic chirality, and droplet propulsion.
Main Methods:
- Simulating a 3D droplet of CLC embedded in an isotropic liquid.
- Applying tangential anchoring of the liquid crystal director at the droplet surface.
- Analyzing the influence of extensile force dipole and dipolar torque activities.
Main Results:
- Active CLC droplets display complex behaviors distinct from nematics.
- Extensile force dipoles stabilize defect configurations, leading to screw-like motion via coupled dynamics.
- Dipolar torques can modify the cholesteric helix and induce tunable, oscillatory rotations.
Conclusions:
- Active cholesteric droplets exhibit rich dynamics driven by internal forces and torques.
- These systems demonstrate a coupling between thermodynamic chirality and emergent propulsion.
- The findings offer new perspectives on active chiral matter and its potential applications.
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