Three-dimensional spontaneous flow transition in a homeotropic active nematic

Vincenzo J. Pratley (Author), Enej Caf (Author), Miha Ravnik (Author), Gareth P. Alexander (Author)

Abstract

Active nematics are driven, non-equilibrium systems relevant to biological processes including tissue mechanics and morphogenesis, and to active metamaterials in general. We study the three-dimensional spontaneous flow transition of an active nematic in an infinite slab geometry using a combination of numerics and analytics. We show that it is determined by the interplay of two eigenmodes – called S- and D-mode – that are unstable at the same activity threshold and spontaneously breaks both rotational symmetry and chiral symmetry. The onset of the unstable modes is described by a non-Hermitian integro-differential operator, which we determine their exponential growth rates from using perturbation theory. The S-mode is the fastest growing. After it reaches a finite amplitude, the growth of the D-mode is anisotropic, being promoted perpendicular to the S-mode and suppressed parallel to it, forming a steady state with a full three-dimensional director field and a well-defined chirality. Lastly, we derive a model of the leading-order time evolution of the system close to the activity threshold.

Keywords

nematske tekočine;aktivni nematiki;nematic fluids;active nematics;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2024
Typology:	1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:	UL FMF - Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
UDC:	532.5
COBISS:	194618883
ISSN:	2399-3650
Views:	12
Downloads:	2
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	Slovenian
Secondary keywords:	nematske tekočine;aktivni nematiki;
Type (COBISS):	Article
Pages:	13 str.
Volume:	ǂVol. ǂ7
Issue:	ǂart. no. ǂ127
Chronology:	Apr. 2024
DOI:	10.1038/s42005-024-01611-y
ID:	23628157