Dumbbell dimer dynamics in three-dimensional chiral fluids

TL;DR

This paper investigates how chirality in three-dimensional fluids with odd viscosity induces rotational dynamics in a dumbbell dimer, revealing new behaviors absent in symmetric systems and highlighting implications for molecular machines and charged polymers.

Contribution

The study analytically demonstrates that chirality causes rotational motion in dimers within odd-viscous fluids, a phenomenon not present in parity-symmetric environments, and explores the effects of thermal fluctuations.

Findings

Chirality induces rotational dynamics in dimers.

Rotational diffusivity is influenced by conformational fluctuations.

Insights applicable to molecular machines and charged polymers in odd-viscous fluids.

Abstract

We study the emergent orientational dynamics of a dumbbell dimer -- two asymmetric monomers connected by a linking spring -- in a three-dimensional chiral environment with odd viscosity. In classical systems with conserved parity symmetry, reciprocal oscillations of a dimer does not lead to rotational motion. Here, through an analytical calculation, we find that the presence of chirality in the system induces rotational dynamics as function of the expansion/contraction of the dimer. By incorporating thermal fluctuations, we further find that the rotational diffusivity is affected by the coupling between conformational fluctuations and rotational motion. Our results provide insights into problems where the parity symmetry is broken and can be used as a building block to study similar models at the collective level. These problems include multi-component molecular machines in odd-viscous fluids and systems with charged polymers where oddity is present through external magnetic fields.