Elasticity-induced force reversal between active spinning particles in dense passive media.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27112961.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms11325 and PMC identifier 4853433.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The self-organization of active particles is governed by their dynamic effective interactions. Such interactions are controlled by the medium in which such active agents reside. Here we study the interactions between active agents in a dense non-active medium. Our system consists of actuated, spinning, active particles embedded in a dense monolayer of passive, or non-active, particles. We demonstrate that the presence of the passive monolayer alters markedly the properties of the system and results in a reversal of the forces between active spinning particles from repulsive to attractive. The origin of such reversal is due to the coupling between the active stresses and elasticity of the system. This discovery provides a mechanism for the interaction between active agents in complex and structured media, opening up opportunities to tune the interaction range and directionality via the mechanical properties of the medium.