Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: We investigate the interplay between chirality and confinement in harmonically trapped active particles. The circular character of chiral motion combines with the radial symmetry of the potential to create distinctive non-equilibrium behavior. Chirality induces oscillatory cross-correlations between positional components that vanish in the absence of torque while the harmonic potential generates a finite delay between orientation and velocity - a signature of time-reversal symmetry breaking distinct from inertial delay mechanisms. The delay function exhibits characteristic temporal evolution with depth and persistence controlled by trap strength and rotational noise. The stationary probability distribution displays strongly non-Maxwellian characteristics, transitioning from broad annuli to compact localized peaks as confinement increases with the distribution radius governed by the competition between chiral propulsion and trap strength. These features emerge from the interplay between chiral swimming and the restoring force of the trap, revealing how confinement and activity jointly shape particle dynamics and transport properties in nonequilibrium steady states.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Barman, Hrithik
Institution: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Topic: Micro and Nano Robotics
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4415880727
Cites:
Cited by:
Related to: