14 citations · 22 across the 8 of their papers we have counts for
8 papers · 1 filter
Orienting-Field Effects on Instability and Mode Selection in Active Nematics
I. K. Joseph, A. J. H. Houston, K. N. Kowal +1
We examine the instabilities of a confined active nematic subjected to an orienting field using a low Reynolds number Ericksen-Leslie framework with active stresses and field-induc…
Geometry and relaxation dynamics of nematic loops
F. Aprile, A. J. H. Houston, G. Gonnella +3
Disclination lines in three-dimensional nematic liquid crystals generically form closed loops whose topology is classified by homotopy theory. While this classification successfull…
Heterogeneity-Induced Oscillations in Active Nematics
Alexander J. H. Houston, Michael Grinfeld, Geoff McKay +1
One of the defining features of active nematics is that above a critical activity the quiescent state becomes unstable to a distorted, flowing one. We show that spatial variations…
The Role of Elastic Anisotropy in Active Nematics
Alexander J. H. Houston
We analyse the effect of anisotropy in elastic constants on the hydrodynamics of active nematics. Building on the multipole framework for a single elastic constant, we determine th…
Spontaneous Flows and Quantum Analogies in Heterogeneous Active Nematic Films
Alexander J. H. Houston, Nigel J. Mottram
Incorporating the inherent heterogeneity of living systems into models of active nematics is essential to provide a more realistic description of biological processes such as bacte…
Colloids in Two-Dimensional Active Nematics: Conformal Cogs and Controllable Spontaneous Rotation
Alexander J. H. Houston, Gareth P. Alexander
A major challenge in the study of active systems is to harness their non-equilibrium dynamics into useful work. We address this by showing how to design colloids with controllable…
Active Nematic Multipoles: Flow Responses and the Dynamics of Defects and Colloids
Alexander J. H. Houston, Gareth P. Alexander
We introduce a general description of localised distortions in active nematics using the framework of active nematic multipoles. We give the Stokesian flows for arbitrary multipole…
Defect Loops in Three-Dimensional Active Nematics as Active Multipoles
Alexander J. H. Houston, Gareth P. Alexander
We develop a description of defect loops in three-dimensional active nematics based on a multipole expansion of the far-field director and show how this leads to a self-dynamics de…