Self-Organization of Active Flow in a Nematic Swimmer

在这个项目中，我们将通过计算机模拟来研究最近引入的一类人工微泳器中的Marangoni不稳定性和自推性，该人工微泳器由向列型液晶液滴在表面活性剂溶液中组成。我们的主要目标是阐明这些游泳运动员丰富的现象学，包括对称打破到冰壶运动，以及连续的手性运动。我们打算使用我们开发的用于通过随机旋转动力学(SRD)模拟液晶的通用工具箱。我们的模拟将能够测试最近发表的分子模型的有效性，对该模型的验证是非常理想的，但仍未得到验证。为了能够对多人游泳系统进行模拟，我们打算开发一个外部流体用连续标量场表示的组合模拟程序。这不仅可以预测游泳者之间的相互作用，还为研究集体动力学铺平了道路。

In this project, we will investigate by means of computer simulations the Marangoni instability and self-propulsion in a recently introduced class of artificial microswimmers consisting of nematic liquid-crystal droplets in a surfactant solution. Our main objective is to elucidate the rich phenomenology of these swimmers, which includes symmetry-breaking into curling motion and, consecutively, into chiral motion. We intend to use the versatile toolbox we have developed for simulating liquid crystals via stochastic rotation dynamics (SRD). Our simulations will be capable of testing the validity of a recently published molecular model, a verification of which is highly desirable but still missing. In order to enable also the simulation of many-swimmer systems, we intend to develop a combined simulation code in which the external fluid is represented by continuous scalar fields. This will not only allow to predict interactions between swimmers, but also pave the way to studying collective dynamics.