Condensed Matter Theory

Abstract:

We numerically investigate the morphology and disclination line dynamics of active nematic droplets in three dimensions. Although our model incorporates only the simplest possible form of achiral active stress, active nematic droplets display an unprecedented range of complex morphologies. For extensile activity, fingerlike protrusions grow at points where disclination lines intersect the droplet surface. For contractile activity, however, the activity field drives cup-shaped droplet invagination, run-and-tumble motion, or the formation of surface wrinkles. This diversity of behavior is explained in terms of an interplay between active anchoring, active flows, and the dynamics of the motile disclination lines. We discuss our findings in the light of biological processes such as morphogenesis, collective cancer invasion, and the shape control of biomembranes, suggesting that some biological systems may share the same underlying mechanisms as active nematic droplets.

Abstract:

We numerically investigate the morphology and disclination line dynamics of active nematic droplets in three dimensions. Although our model incorporates only the simplest possible form of achiral active stress, active nematic droplets display an unprecedented range of complex morphologies. For extensile activity, fingerlike protrusions grow at points where disclination lines intersect the droplet surface. For contractile activity, however, the activity field drives cup-shaped droplet invagination, run-and-tumble motion, or the formation of surface wrinkles. This diversity of behavior is explained in terms of an interplay between active anchoring, active flows, and the dynamics of the motile disclination lines. We discuss our findings in the light of biological processes such as morphogenesis, collective cancer invasion, and the shape control of biomembranes, suggesting that some biological systems may share the same underlying mechanisms as active nematic droplets.

Abstract:

We study the stochastic dynamics of an electrolyte driven by a uniform external electric field and show that it exhibits generic scale invariance despite the presence of Debye screening. The resulting long-range correlations give rise to a Casimir-like fluctuation-induced force between neutral boundaries that confine the ions; this force is controlled by the external electric field, and it can be both attractive and repulsive with similar boundary conditions, unlike other long-range fluctuation-induced forces. This work highlights the importance of nonequilibrium correlations in electrolytes and shows how they can be used to tune interactions between uncharged biological or synthetic structures at large separations.

Abstract:

Vertically vibrating a liquid bath at two frequencies, f and f/2, having a constant relative phase difference can give rise to self-propelled superwalking droplets on the liquid surface. We have numerically investigated such superwalking droplets in the regime where the phase difference varies slowly with time. We predict the emergence of stop-and-go motion of droplets, consistent with experimental observations [Valani et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 024503 (2019)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.123.024503]. Our simulations in the parameter space spanned by the droplet size and the rate of traversal of the phase difference uncover three different types of droplet motion: back-and-forth, forth-and-forth, and irregular stop-and-go motion, which we explore in detail. Our findings lay a foundation for further studies of dynamically driven droplets, whereby the droplet's motion may be guided by engineering arbitrary time-dependent phase difference functions.

Abstract:

We uncover topological features of neutral particle-hole pair excitations of correlated quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators whose approximately flat conduction and valence bands have equal and opposite nonzero Chern number. Using an exactly solvable model we show that the underlying band topology affects both the center-of-mass and relative motion of particle-hole bound states. This leads to the formation of topological exciton bands whose features are robust to nonuniformity of both the dispersion and the Berry curvature. We apply these ideas to recently reported broken-symmetry spontaneous QAH insulators in substrate aligned magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene.