Talk 26.11.2018

Speaker: Hartmut Löwen
Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf

Title: Physics of active soft matter

Abstract:
Ordinary materials are "passive" in the sense that their constituents are typically made by inert
particles which are subjected to thermal fluctuations, internal interactions and external fields but do
not move on their own. Living systems, like schools of fish, swarms of birds, pedestrians and
swimming microbes are called "active matter" since they are composed of self-propelled constituents.
Active matter is intrinsically in nonequilibrium and exhibits a plethora of novel phenomena as
revealed by a recent combined effort of statistical theory, computer simulation and real-space
experiments. The colloquium talk provides an introduction into the physics of active matter focussing
on artificial microswimmers as a key example of active soft matter [1]. A number of single-particle
and collective phenomena in active matter will be adressed ranging from circle swimming to motilityinduced
phase separation and inertial delay effects.