Geometrical control of active turbulence in curved topographies

Abstract

We investigate the turbulent dynamics of a two-dimensional active nematic liquid crystal con- strained on a curved surface. Using a combination of hydrodynamic and particle-based simulations, we demonstrate that the fundamental structural features of the fluid, such as the topological charge density, the defect number density, the nematic order parameter and defect creation and annihilation rates, are simple linear functions of the substrate Gaussian curvature, which then acts as a control parameter for the chaotic flow. Our theoretical predictions are then compared with experiments on microtubule-kinesin suspensions confined on toroidal active droplets, finding excellent qualitative agreement.

arXiv comment6 pages, 4 figures

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Cited by in corpus (24)

• Theory of defect-mediated morphogenesis
• Submersed Micropatterned Structures Control Active Nematic Flow, Topology and Concentration
• Design of nematic liquid crystals to control microscale dynamics
• Active morphogenesis of patterned epithelial shells
• Active nematics with anisotropic friction: the decisive role of the flow aligning parameter
• Active nematic flows on curved surfaces
• Newton-Cartan Submanifolds and Fluid Membranes
• Spontaneous Self-Constraint in Active Nematic Flows
• Dynamics of active nematic defects on the surface of a sphere
• Orientational correlations in active and passive nematic defects
• Probing active nematics with in-situ microfabricated elastic inclusions
• Active Flows on Curved Surfaces
• Active nematodynamics on curved surfaces -- the influence of geometric forces on motion patterns of topological defects
• Morphodynamics of Active Nematic Fluid Surfaces
• A numerical approach for fluid deformable surfaces with conserved enclosed volume
• Helical Flow States in Active Nematics
• Defect order in active nematics on a curved surface
• Tuneable defect-curvature coupling and topological transitions in active shells
• Active smectics on a sphere
• Active Filaments on Curved Surfaces: From Single Filaments to Dilute Suspensions
• Axisymmetric flows on the torus geometry
• Passive defect driven morphogenesis in nematic membranes
• Dynamics of Vortex Clusters on a Torus
• Defect Interactions Through Periodic Boundaries in Two-Dimensional $p$-atics