3 papers
cond-mat.soft2026
Self-assembling clusters of particles on a shrinking liquid surface
Xin Li, Shuchen Zhang, Mark J. Bowick +1
After rainfall, pine needles often float on the surface of small puddles. As the water evaporates, they self-assemble into distinct clusters. Motivated by this natural phenomenon,…
cond-mat.soft2025
Active assembly and non-reciprocal dynamics of elastic membranes
John Berezney, Sattvic Ray, Itamar Kolvin +6
Equilibrium self-assembly and conventional materials processing techniques fall far short of mimicking dynamic self-actuating processes that are commonplace throughout biology. To…
cond-mat.soft2025
Active Solids: Topological Defect Self-Propulsion Without Flow
Fridtjof Brauns, Myles O'Leary, Arthur Hernandez +2
The self-propulsion of +1/2 topological defects is a hallmark of active nematic fluids, where the defects are advected by the flow field they themselves generate. In this paper we…