Title: Active Particles in Inhomogeneous Environments

Speaker: Vaseem Shaik, Northwestern University

Abstract: Active particles are entities, either living (like microorganisms, birds, and humans) or non-living (like nanorobots), that convert stored energy into directed motion. A suspension of these particles is called active matter. They often navigate through inhomogeneous environments such as gradients in heat, light, nutrients, or fluid properties like viscosity and density, exhibiting directed motion known as taxis (e.g., chemotaxis, phototaxis, gravitaxis). This summary focuses on ?m - mm-sized particles swimming in fluids with mechanical property gradients, like viscosity, elasticity, and density. It discusses phenomena like viscotaxis (response to viscosity gradients), behavior similar to light refraction in viscosity gradients (described by a Snell's law), durotaxis (response to elasticity gradients), and densitaxis (response to density gradients), with implications for plankton migration. The study also covers particle-induced mixing and the influence of noise, exploring how these inhomogeneities can control active matter in confined environments.

Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/96970714028

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