Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 8, 2026
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Line Shape Analysis of Dynamic NMR Spectra for Characterizing Coordination Sphere Rearrangements at a Chiral Rhenium Polyhydride Complex
Published on: July 27, 2022
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Chirality, confinement, and dimensionality govern re-entrant transitions in active matter
Anweshika Pattanayak1,2, Amir Shee3, Debasish Chaudhuri4,5
1Department of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, Sector 81, Knowledge City, S. A. S. Nagar, Manauli, Mohali PO 140306, India.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|December 24, 2025
Summary
We developed an analytical framework to study chiral active matter in traps. Dimensionality and torque significantly influence particle behavior, leading to unique non-Gaussian statistics and experimental signatures.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Soft Matter Physics
- Statistical Mechanics
Background:
- Chiral active particles exhibit complex non-equilibrium dynamics.
- Understanding their steady states is crucial for chiral active matter.
- Existing models often lack exact analytical solutions for confined systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an exact analytical framework for characterizing steady states of confined chiral active particles.
- To investigate the role of dimensionality and torque on particle dynamics.
- To identify experimental signatures for probing and controlling active matter.
Main Methods:
- Analytical framework using Laplace-transform approach to the Fokker-Planck equation.
- Numerical simulations to support analytical findings.
- Derivation of closed-form expressions for displacement moments and excess kurtosis.
Main Results:
- Identified three distinct steady-state regimes: bimodal, Gaussian-like, and weakly heavy-tailed distributions.
- Demonstrated that dimensionality critically affects behavior: 2D chirality suppresses activity, while 3D torque sustains anisotropy.
- Revealed unique non-Gaussian statistics in 2D and preserved non-Gaussianity in 3D even at high chirality.
Conclusions:
- Confinement is a powerful tool to probe and control chiral and torque-driven active matter.
- Kurtosis crossovers, off-center peaks, and torque-induced anisotropy serve as concrete experimental signatures.
- Simple active length-scale arguments effectively map transitions between Gaussian and non-Gaussian states.
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