Collective dynamics and conformal ordering in electrophoretically driven nematic colloids
- We present a theoretical framework to understand the collective dynamics of an ensemble of electrophoretically driven colloidal particles that are forced to assemble around a single topological defect in a nematic liquid crystal by an alternating current electric field. Our generic model combines phoretic propulsion with electrostatic interactions and liquid-crystal-mediated hydrodynamics, which are effectively cast into a long-range interparticle repulsion, while nematic elasticity plays a subdominant role. Simulations based on this model fully capture the collective organization process observed in the experiments and other striking effects as the emergence of conformal ordering and a nearly frequency-independent repulsive interaction above 10Hz. Our results demonstrate the importance of hydrodynamic interactions on the assembly of driven microscale matter in anisotropic media.
| Author: | Arthur StraubeORCiD, Josep M. Pagès, Pietro Tierno, Jordi Ignés-Mullol, Francesc Sagués |
|---|---|
| Document Type: | Article |
| Parent Title (English): | Phys. Rev. Research |
| Volume: | 1 |
| First Page: | 022008 |
| Year of first publication: | 2019 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.1.022008 |

