Self-phoretic colloids in chiral active fluids

TL;DR

This paper extends the theory of self-phoretic colloids to chiral active fluids with odd viscosity, deriving propulsion velocities and exploring effects of symmetry and chirality on colloid motion.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized framework for phoretic active matter in fluids with odd viscosity, accounting for arbitrary activity and mobility profiles.

Findings

Derived expressions for translational and rotational velocities of colloids.

Analyzed the impact of symmetry and chirality on colloid propulsion.

Applicable to collective dynamics in fluids with broken time-reversal and parity.

Abstract

Autonomous and driven transport in chiral active fluids have been shown to exhibit features that cannot be accommodated within the classical formulation of fluid mechanics, due to the role of odd viscosity. We generalize the theory of phoretic active matter to fluid environments with odd viscosity and derive expressions for translational and rotational self-propulsion velocities in the case of a spherical swimmer with arbitrary activity and mobility surface profiles. We discuss specific examples of chemically active colloids with axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric coatings and the resulting interplay between symmetry and chirality. Our results can be applied to study the emergent collective dynamics of phoretic particles in fluid media with broken time-reversal and parity symmetries.