Spontaneous rotation of an inclusion in a chiral active bath
Active matter systems are known to drive directed transport and rotation when coupled to passive inclusions. We study the dynamics of a geometrically symmetric inclusion, termed a torquer, in a bath of chiral active Brownian particles. Despite being geometrically symmetric and non-motile, the torquer exhibits persistent rotation due to spatially inhomogeneous torques arising from angularly biased collisions with active particles. This interaction-driven symmetry breaking does not rely on shape anisotropy or external forcing. Through simulations, we identify two distinct regimes of rotation: one dominated by density gradients at low chirality and another by increased impact frequency at high chirality. Our results demonstrate that persistent rotational dynamics can be realised in a symmetric inclusion, from anisotropic interaction with the active bath.
Authors
- Abhra Puitandy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3832-5719)
- Shradha Mishra
Institutions
- Indian Institute of Technology BHU (IN)
- Banaras Hindu University (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Soft Matter
- Published
- 2025-12-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm01065a
- Primary Topic
- Micro and Nano Robotics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00