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Updated: Jul 25, 2025

Forming, Confining, and Observing Microtubule-Based Active Nematics
Published on: January 13, 2023
Rectified Rotational Dynamics of Mobile Inclusions in Two-Dimensional Active Nematics
Sattvic Ray1, Jie Zhang2,3, Zvonimir Dogic1
1Department of Physics, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
Abstract:
We investigate the dynamics of mobile inclusions embedded in 2D active nematics. The interplay between the inclusion shape, boundary-induced nematic order, and autonomous flows powers the inclusion motion. Disks and achiral gears exhibit unbiased rotational motion, but with distinct dynamics. In comparison, chiral gear-shaped inclusions exhibit long-term rectified rotation, which is correlated with dynamics and polarization of nearby +1/2 topological defects. The chirality of defect polarities and the active nematic texture around the inclusion correlate with the inclusion's instantaneous rotation rate. Inclusions provide a promising tool for probing the rheological properties of active nematics and extracting ordered motion from their inherently chaotic motion.
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