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Emergent dynamic regimes in active suspensions : spontaneous and forced structures
Active systems generate motion due to energy consumption, usually associated to their internal metabolism or to appropriate, localized, interfacial chemical reactivity. As a result, these systems are intrinsically out of equilibrium and their collective properties result from a balance between their direct interactions and the indirect coupling to the medium in which they displace. Therefore, a dynamical approach is required to analyze their evolution and quantify their selfassembly and ability to generate intermediate and large scale stable structures.
Making use of model systems for self-propelled particles, I will discuss how physical mechanisms associated to the coupling of the active entities through the embedding medium can lead to cooperative motion and pattern formation even in the absence of additional, specific interactions between the particles. I will also discuss the interplay between these intrinsic means to promote new structures and the reaction to external forces.