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Exact Coherent Structures and Phase Space Geometry of Preturbulent 2D Active Nematic Channel Flow

Caleb G. Wagner, Michael M. Norton, Jae Sung Park, and Piyush Grover
Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 028003 – Published 13 January 2022
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Abstract

Confined active nematics exhibit rich dynamical behavior, including spontaneous flows, periodic defect dynamics, and chaotic “active turbulence.” Here, we study these phenomena using the framework of exact coherent structures, which has been successful in characterizing the routes to high Reynolds number turbulence of passive fluids. Exact coherent structures are stationary, periodic, quasiperiodic, or traveling wave solutions of the hydrodynamic equations that, together with their invariant manifolds, serve as an organizing template of the dynamics. We compute the dominant exact coherent structures and connecting orbits in a preturbulent active nematic channel flow, which enables a fully nonlinear but highly reduced-order description in terms of a directed graph. Using this reduced representation, we compute instantaneous perturbations that switch the system between disparate spatiotemporal states occupying distant regions of the infinite-dimensional phase space. Our results lay the groundwork for a systematic means of understanding and controlling active nematic flows in the moderate- to high-activity regime.

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  • Received 6 September 2021
  • Accepted 2 December 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.028003

© 2022 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Polymers & Soft MatterFluid DynamicsNonlinear DynamicsCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Caleb G. Wagner1,*, Michael M. Norton2, Jae Sung Park1, and Piyush Grover1,†

  • 1Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA
  • 2School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York 14623, USA

  • *c.g.wagner23@gmail.com
  • piyush.grover@unl.edu

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Issue

Vol. 128, Iss. 2 — 14 January 2022

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