Active Matter for Self-Assembly
| When |
Oct 09, 2023
from 11:00 to 12:00 |
|---|---|
| Where | Salle Condorcet |
| Attendees |
Jérémie Palacci |
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Biological systems show remarkable and robust self-assembly: bacteria form colonies, cells reshape and muscle fibers collectively contract… Those phenomena stem from the non-equilibrium nature of living matter, a prototypical example of active matter in which self-driven units convert an energy source into useful motion and work. Inspired by the biological world, we attempt to build and control man-made materials powered from within.
As a first example, we will see how the doping by active particles allow to accelerate the annealing of a dense monolayer of colloidal particles, reaching the ground state faster along unusual pathways. Then, we will discuss the effect of an active bacterial bath on the aggregation of sticky forming unconventional gels, with the activity of the bath controlling the phase diagram.
In a second part, we will show how active particles self-assemble or can be assembled into autonomous and programmable metamachines, or machines made of machines. Because active particles can differentiate to provide multiple functions, machines are readily reconfigurable, merged and annealed, allowing for more sophisticated machinery, e.g. self-oscillating structures.
Together, this show the potential of active matter for self-assembly and the development of dynamical and reconfigurable materials.