Biophysical Modeling: Chiral Active Matter

Rotational or chiral active matter appears broadly in soft and condensed matter physics, and in biological systems where torque-generating processes drive organization and flow.

We have shown how interacting rotors can crystallize, form hyperuniform and phase-enriched assemblies, and generate chiral fluids with odd stresses and unusual free-surface dynamics. Collaborations with the Irvine experimental group (UChicago) have revealed active crystals whose dynamic dislocations reorganize the material, as well as “vortlet” particles that self-propel, flock, and assemble into new chiral phases. The scalable computational platforms devoloped by our group enable high-fidelity simulation of dense rotor assemblies.

[show a picture from Naomi’s paper, or a simulation fiture insert]