Activity induced nematic order in isotropic liquid crystals

Abstract

We use linear stability analysis to show that an isotropic phase of elongated particles with dipolar flow fields can develop nematic order as a result of their activity. We argue that ordering is favoured if the particles are flow-aligning and is strongest if the wavevector of the order perturbation is neither parallel nor perpendicular to the nematic director. Numerical solutions of the hydrodynamic equations of motion of an active nematic confirm the results. The instability is contrasted to the well-known hydrodynamic instability of an ordered active nematic.

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Cited by in corpus (21)

• Dynamics of active liquid interfaces
• Flow states and transitions of an active nematic in a three dimensional channel
• Integer topological defects of cell monolayers -- mechanics and flows
• Polar Fluctuations Lead to Extensile Nematic Behavior in Confluent Tissues
• Fingering Instability of Active Nematic Droplets
• Binding self-propelled topological defects in active turbulence
• Spontaneous rotation of active droplets in two and three dimensions
• Collective rotational motion of freely-expanding T84 epithelial cell colonies
• Helical Flow States in Active Nematics
• Heating leads to liquid-crystal and crystalline order in a two-temperature active fluid of rods
• Asymmetric fluctuations and self-folding of active interfaces
• Traveling waves at the surface of active liquid crystals
• Vorticity phase separation and defect lattices in the isotropic phase of active liquid crystals
• Activity induced isotropic-polar transition in active liquid crystals
• Active nematic gel with quenched disorder
• Active fluids form system-spanning filamentary networks
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• Solute dispersion in pre-turbulent confined active nematics
• Active screws: Emergent active chiral nematics of spinning self-propelled rods
• Nematic order condensation and topological defects in inertial active nematics
• Pseudo-giant number fluctuations and nematic order in microswimmer suspensions