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Emergent synchronization and defect dynamics in confined chiral active suspensions

Zaiyi Shen1,*, Leilei Wang2, Shishuang Zhang2,3, Chenlu Li2,3, Kaili Xie4, Xu Zheng2,†, and Juho S. Lintuvuori5,‡

  • *Contact author: zaiyi.shen@pku.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: zhengxu@lnm.imech.ac.cn
  • ‡Contact author: juho.lintuvuori@u-bordeaux.fr
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023045 – Published 14 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qb6l-bqpv

Abstract

Hydrodynamic interactions can generate rich emergent structures in active matter systems. Using large-scale hydrodynamic simulations, we demonstrate that inertial hydrodynamic coupling alone can drive spontaneous self-organization across a hierarchy of spatial and temporal scales in confined suspensions of torque-driven particles at moderate Reynolds numbers. Spinners first self-assemble into dimers, which crystallize into a hexatic lattice and subsequently undergo a collective tilting instability. The resulting tilted dimers rotate and synchronize through hydrodynamic repulsion, which can be tuned by the Reynolds number. Upon synchronization, the polar director develops splay and bend deformations and nucleates topological defects with charges of ±1. These defects induce long-wavelength concentration gradients and drive crystal vortex dynamics spanning hundreds of particle diameters. Our results reveal a purely hydrodynamic route to synchronization and defect-mediated dynamics in chiral active matter, without explicit alignment rules or long-range interparticle forces.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023045– Published 14 April, 2026
  • Received 23 October 2025
  • Revised 31 January 2026
  • Accepted 22 March 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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