Active Particles in Tunable Compressible Environments

Venkata Tanuku, Isha Malhotra, Lorenzo Caprini, Hartmut Löwen, Thomas Palberg, Ivo Buttinoni (2026) Active Particles in Tunable Compressible Environments Small Sci (IF: 7) 6(5) e202500599

Abstract

Active particles affect their environment as much as the environment affects their active motion. Here, we present an experimental system where both can be simultaneously adjusted in situ using an external AC electric field. The environment consists in a two-dimensional bath of colloidal silica particles, whereas the active particles are gold-coated Janus spheres. As the electric field orthogonal to the planar layer increases, the former become stiffer and the latter become faster. The active trajectories exhibit enhanced rotational motion where the reorientation frequency increases with the particle speed, an effect that culminates in a chiral active motion. We demonstrate that self-sustained reorientations arise from local compressions and interaction asymmetries, revealing a general particle-level mechanism where changes in the mechanical properties of the environment reshape active trajectories.© 2026 The Author(s). Small Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.

Links

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13154922
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42111826
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202500599

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