Rheologically Tuned Modes of Collective Transport in Active Viscoelastic Films

While many living biological media combine both viscous and elastic properties, most theoretical studies employ either purely fluid or solidlike descriptions. We here use a unified framework for active films on substrates capable of describing a range of viscoelastic behavior to explore the interplay between activity and rheology. The core of the study is a comprehensive state diagram showing a rich world of spatiotemporal dynamic states. Our results demonstrate the potential of tunable rheology to realize modes of controlled active transport on the microscale.