# Controlling the transport of active matter in disorderd lattices of asymmetrical obstacles

## TL;DR

This paper studies how active particles move in a disordered lattice of asymmetrical obstacles, revealing a spontaneous current inversion phenomenon depending on obstacle size, supported by numerical and analytical analysis.

## Contribution

It demonstrates a novel spontaneous current inversion in active matter transport caused by obstacle asymmetry and disorder, supported by qualitative calculations.

## Key findings

- Current inversion occurs when obstacle diameter equals the lattice unit cell.
- No inversion observed when obstacle diameter is smaller.
- Analytical model qualitatively reproduces the numerical results.

## Abstract

We investigate the transport of active matter system in the presence of a disordered square lattice of half-circles, which is built by removing a fraction of them from the initial full lattice. We consider no external field. We observe a spontaneous inversion of the net current, compared to the usual sense of such a current reported in previous papers, if the obstacle has the same diameter as the unit cell of the square lattice. If this diameter is smaller, there is no inversion. We show a calculation that reproduces our numerical results qualitatively, based on the argument that such effects are the results of the imbalance of particles traveling in the positive and the negative directions due to traps formed by the obstacles: for positive travelers the traps are the spaces between neighboring obstacles, while for negative travelers, they are the flat side of the obstacles.