Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Does a collection of magnetically driven rotors necessarily rotate in the same direction as its individual members? We show that rotors driven by a rotating magnetic field self-assemble into clusters whose collective rotation can oppose the self-rotation of every rotor within them. The reversal arises from competition between rotation-translation coupling and dipolar interactions, which favor opposite directions of collective rotation. Their balance varies with system size and driving frequency, producing a transition between the two handed states, while hydrodynamic interactions shift the transition boundary. Collective handedness can thus emerge opposite to the field-imposed single-rotor rotation without reversing the external field, and can be tuned through system size and driving frequency.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutions: Georgia Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University
Language: English
Topic: Micro and Nano Robotics
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7223034836