Edge Transport and Self-Assembly of Passive Objects in a Chiral Active Fluid

Topological edge flow and dissipationless odd viscosity are two remarkable features of chiral active fluids composed of active spinners. These features can significantly influence the dynamics of suspended passive particles and the interactions between the particles. By computer simulations, we investigate the transport phenomenon of anisotropic passive objects and the self-assembly behavior of passive spherical particles in the active spinner fluid. It is found that in confined systems, nonspherical passive objects can stably cling to boundary walls and are unidirectionally and robustly transported by edge flow of spinners. Furthermore, in an unconfined system, passive spherical particles are able to form stable clusters that spontaneously and unidirectionally rotate as a whole. In these phenomena, strong particle-wall and interparticle effective attractions play a vital role, which originate from spinner-mediated depletion-like interactions and can be largely enhanced by odd viscosity of spinner fluids. Our results thus provide new insight into the robust transport of cargoes and the nonequilibrium self-assembly of passive intruders.