arXiv subjects

Yair Shokef

Publications and source records attributed to Yair Shokef.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Non-Newtonian Topological Mechanical Metamaterials Using Feedback Control

We introduce a method to design topological mechanical metamaterials that are not constrained by Newtonian dynamics. The unit cells in a mechanical lattice are subjected to active feedback forces that are processed through autonomous controllers, pre-programmed to generate the desired local response in real-time. As an example, we focus on the quantum Haldane model, which is a two-band system with directional complex coupling terms, violating Newton's third law. We demonstrate that the required topological phase, characterized by chiral edge modes, can be achieved in an analogous mechanical system only with closed-loop control. We then show that our approach enables to realize, for the first time, a modified version of the Haldane model in a mechanical metamaterial. Here, the complex-valued couplings are polarized in a way that modes on opposite edges of a lattice propagate in the same direction, and are balanced by counter-propagating diffusive bulk modes. The proposed method is general and flexible, and could be used to realize arbitrary lattice parameters, such as non-local or nonlinear couplings, time dependent potentials, non-Hermitian dynamics, and more, on a single platform.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Target finding in fibrous biological environments

We use a lattice model to study first-passage time distributions of target finding events through complex environments with elongated fibers distributed with different anisotropies and volume occupation fractions. For isotropic systems and for low densities of aligned fibers, the three-dimensional search is a Poisson process with the first-passage time exponentially distributed with the most probable finding time at zero. At high enough densities of aligned fibers, elongated channels emerge, reducing the dynamics dimensionality to one dimension. We show how the shape and size of the channels modify the behavior of the first-passage time distribution and its short, intermediate, and long time scales. We develop an exactly solvable model for synthetic rectangular channels, which captures the effects of the tortuous local structure of the elongated channels that naturally emerge in our system. For arbitrary values of the nematic order parameter of fiber orientations, we develop a mapping to the simpler situation of fully aligned fibers at some other effective volume occupation fraction. Our results shed light on the molecular transport of biomolecules between biological cells in complex fibrous environments.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Constraint relaxation leads to jamming

Adding transitions to an equilibrium system increases the activity. Naively, one would expect this to hold also in out of equilibrium systems. This surprising effect is caused by adding heretofore forbidden transitions into less and less active states. We demonstrate, using relatively simple models, how adding transitions to an out of equilibrium system may in fact reduce the activity and even cause it to vanish. We investigate six related kinetically-constrained lattice gas models, some of which behave as naively expected while others exhibit this non-intuitive behavior. We introduce a semi-mean-field approximation describing the models, which agrees qualitatively with our numerical simulation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Arrested States in Persistent Active Matter: Gelation without Attraction

We explore phase separation and kinetic arrest in a model active colloidal system consisting of self-propelled, hard-core particles with nonconvex shapes. The passive limit of the model, namely cross-shaped particles on a square lattice, exhibits a first-order transition from a fluid phase to a solid phase with increasing density. Quenches into the two-phase coexistence region exhibit an aging regime. The nonconvex shape of the particles eases jamming in the passive system and leads to strong inhibition of rotations of the active particles. Using numerical simulations and analytical modeling, we quantify the nonequilibrium phase behavior as a function of density and activity. If we view activity as the analog of attraction strength, the phase diagram exhibits strong similarities to that of attractive colloids, exhibiting both aging, glassy states and gel-like arrested states. The two types of dynamically arrested states, glasses and gels, are distinguished by the appearance of density heterogenities in the latter. In the infinitely persistent limit, we show that a coarse-grained model based on the asymmetric exclusion process quantitatively predicts the density profiles of the gel states. The predictions remain qualitatively valid for finite rotation rates. Using these results, we classify the activity-driven phases and identify the boundaries separating them.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

Topology Restricts Quasidegeneracy in Sheared Square Colloidal Ice

Recovery of ground-state degeneracy in two-dimensional square ice is a significant challenge in the field of geometric frustration with far-reaching fundamental implications, such as realization of vertex models and understanding the effect of dimensionality reduction. We combine experiments, theory, and numerical simulations to demonstrate that sheared square colloidal ice partially recovers the ground-state degeneracy for a wide range of field strengths and lattice shear angles. Our method opens an avenue to engineer a novel class of frustrated micro- and nano-structures based on sheared magnetic lattices in a wide range of soft- and condensed-matter systems.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

Response evolution of mechanical metamaterials under architectural transformations

Architectural transformations play a key role in the evolution of complex systems, from design algorithms for metamaterials to flow and plasticity of disordered media. Here, we develop a general framework for the evolution of the linear mechanical response of network structures under discrete architectural transformations via sequential removal and addition of elastic elements. We focus on a class of spatially complex metamaterials, consisting of triangular building blocks. Rotations of these building blocks, corresponding to removing and adding elastic elements, introduce (topological) architectural defects. We show that the metamaterials' states of self stress play a crucial role, and that the mutually exclusive self stress states between two different network architectures span the difference in their mechanical response. For our class of metamaterials, we identify a localized representation of these states of self stress, which allows us to capture the evolving response. We use our insights to understand the unusual stress-steering behaviour of topological defects.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

Mechanical Interaction Between Cells Facilitates Molecular Transport

In vivo, eukaryotic cells are embedded in a matrix environment, where they grow and develop. Generally, this extracellular matrix (ECM) is an anisotropic fibrous structure, through which macromolecules and biochemical signaling molecules at the nanometer scale diffuse. The ECM is continuously remodeled by cells, via mechanical interactions, which lead to a potential link between biomechanical and biochemical cell-cell interactions. Here, we study how cell-induced forces applied on the ECM impacts the biochemical transport of molecules between distant cells. Experimentally, we observe that cells remodel the ECM by increasing fiber alignment and density of the matrix between them over time. Using random walk simulations on a 3D lattice, we implement elongated fixed obstacles that mimic the fibrous ECM structure. We measure both diffusion of a tracer molecule and the mean first-passage time a molecule secreted from one cell takes to reach another cell. Our model predicts that cell-induced remodeling can lead to a dramatic speedup in the transport of molecules between cells. Fiber alignment and densification cause reduction of the transport dimensionality from a 3D to a much more rapid 1D process. Thus, we suggest a novel mechanism of mechano-biochemical feedback in the regulation of long-range cell-cell communication.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2019

Non-monotonic displacement distribution of active random walkers

We consider a simple model for active random walk with general temporal correlations, and investigate the shape of the probability distribution function of the displacement during a short time interval. We find that under certain conditions the distribution is non-monotonic and we show analytically and numerically that the existence of the non-monotonicity is governed by the walker's tendency to move forward, while the correlations between the timing of its active motion control the magnitude and shape of the non-monotonicity. In particular, we find that in a homogeneous system such non-monotonicity can occur only if the persistence is strong enough.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2019

Kinetically constrained model for gravity-driven granular flow and clogging

We add extreme driving to the Kob-Andersen kinetically-constrained lattice-gas model in order to mimic the effect of gravity on dense granular systems. For low particle densities, the current that develops in the system agrees at arbitrary field intensity with a mean field theory. At intermediate densities, spatial correlations give rise to non-monotonic dependence of the current on field intensity. At higher densities, the current ultimately vanishes at a finite, field-dependent jamming density. We supplement the study of this bulk behavior with an investigation of the current through a narrow hole. There, lateral flow decreases the local density in front of the hole. Remarkably, the current through the hole quantitatively agrees with a theoretical prediction based on the bulk current at the measured local density.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

Topological defects produce exotic mechanics in complex metamaterials

Defects, and in particular topological defects, are architectural motifs that play a crucial role in natural materials. Here we provide a systematic strategy to introduce such defects in mechanical metamaterials. We first present metamaterials that are a mechanical analogue of spin systems with tunable ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions, then design an exponential number of frustration-free metamaterials, and finally introduce topological defects by rotating a string of building blocks in these metamaterials. We uncover the distinct mechanical signature of topological defects by experiments and simulations, and leverage this to design complex metamaterials in which we can steer deformations and stresses towards parts of the system. Our work presents a new avenue to systematically include spatial complexity, frustration, and topology in mechanical metamaterials.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2018

Motion of active tracer in a lattice gas with cross-shaped particles

We analyze the dynamics of an active tracer particle embedded in a thermal lattice gas. All particles are subject to exclusion up to third nearest neighbors on the square lattice, which leads to slow dynamics at high densities. For the case with no rotational diffusion of the tracer, we derive an analytical expression for the resulting drift velocity v of the tracer in terms of non-equilibrium density correlations involving the tracer particle and its neighbors, which we verify using numerical simulations. We show that the properties of the passive system alone do not adequately describe even this simple system of a single non-rotating active tracer. For large activity and low density, we develop an approximation for v. For the case where the tracer undergoes rotational diffusion independent of its neighbors, we relate its diffusion coefficient to the thermal diffusion coefficient and v. Finally we study dynamics where the rotation of the tracer is limited by the presence of neighboring particles. We find that the effect of this rotational locking may be quantitatively described in terms of a reduction of the rotation rate.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2018

Elastic interactions between anisotropically contracting circular cells

We study interactions between biological cells that apply anisotropic active mechanical forces on an elastic substrate. We model the cells as thin discs that along their perimeters apply radial, but angle-dependent forces on the substrate. We obtain analytical expressions for the elastic energy stored in the substrate as a function of the distance between the cells, the Fourier modes of applied forces and their phase angles. We show how the relative phases of the forces applied by the cells can switch the interaction between attractive and repulsive, and relate our results to those for linear force dipoles. For long enough distances, the interaction energy decays in magnitude as a power law of the cell-cell distance with an integer exponent that generally increases with the Fourier modes of the applied forces.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2018

Attraction controls the entropy of fluctuations in isosceles triangular networks

We study two-dimensional triangular-network models, which have degenerate ground states composed of straight or randomly-zigzagging stripes and thus sub-extensive residual entropy. We show that attraction is responsible for the inversion of the stable phase by changing the entropy of fluctuations around the ground-state configurations. By using a real-space shell-expansion method, we compute the exact expression of the entropy for harmonic interactions, while for repulsive harmonic interactions we obtain the entropy arising from a limited subset of the system by numerical integration. We compare these results with a three-dimensional triangular-network model, which shows the same attraction-mediated selection mechanism of the stable phase, and conclude that this effect is general with respect to the dimensionality of the system.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2017

Shape regulation generates elastic interaction between living cells

The organization of live cells to tissues is associated with the mechanical interaction between cells, which is mediated through their elastic environment. We model cells as spherical active force dipoles surrounded by an infinite elastic matrix, and analytically evaluate the interaction energy for different scenarios of their regulatory behavior. We obtain attraction for homeostatic (set point) forces and repulsion for homeostatic displacements. When the translational motion of the cells is regulated, the interaction energy decays with distance as $1/d^4$, while when it is not regulated the energy decays as $1/d^6$. This arises from the same reasons as the van der Waals interaction between induced electric dipoles.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2017

Attraction Controls the Inversion of Order by Disorder

We show how including attraction in interparticle interactions reverses the effect of fluctuations in ordering of a prototypical artificial frustrated system. Buckled colloidal monolayers exhibit the same ground state as the Ising antiferromagnet on a deformable triangular lattice, but it is unclear if ordering in the two systems is driven by the same geometric mechanism. By a real-space expansion we find that for buckled colloids bent stripes constitute the stable phase, whereas in the Ising antiferromagnet straight stripes are favored. For generic pair potentials we show that attraction governs this selection mechanism, in a manner that is linked to local packing considerations. This supports the geometric origin of entropy in jammed sphere packings and provides a tool for designing self-assembled colloidal structures.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2016

Hydrodynamics in kinetically-constrained lattice-gas models

Kinetically-constrained models are lattice-gas models that are used for describing glassy systems. By construction, their equilibrium state is trivial and there are no equal-time correlations between the occupancy of different sites. We drive such models out of equilibrium by connecting them to two reservoirs of different densities, and measure the response of the system to this perturbation. We find that under the proper coarse-graining, the behavior of these models may be expressed by a nonlinear diffusion equation, with a model- and density-dependent diffusion coefficient. We find a simple approximation for the diffusion coefficient, and show that the relatively mild discrepancy between the approximation and our numerical results arises due to non-negligible correlations that appear as the system is driven out of equilibrium, even when the density gradient is infinitesimally small. Similar correlations appear when such kinetically-constrained models are driven out of equilibrium by applying a uniform external force. We suggest that these correlations are the reason for the same discrepancy between the approximate diffusion coefficient and the numerical results for a broader group of models, non-gradient lattice-gas models, for which kinetically-constrained models are arguably the simplest example thereof.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2016

Combinatorial Design of Textured Mechanical Metamaterials

The structural complexity of metamaterials is limitless, although in practice, most designs comprise periodic architectures which lead to materials with spatially homogeneous features. More advanced tasks, arising in e.g. soft robotics, prosthetics and wearable tech, involve spatially textured mechanical functionality which require aperiodic architectures. However, a naïve implementation of such structural complexity invariably leads to frustration, which prevents coherent operation and impedes functionality. Here we introduce a combinatorial strategy for the design of aperiodic yet frustration-free mechanical metamaterials, whom we show to exhibit spatially textured functionalities. We implement this strategy using cubic building blocks - voxels - which deform anisotropically, a local stacking rule which allows cooperative shape changes by guaranteeing that deformed building blocks fit as in a 3D jigsaw puzzle, and 3D printing. We show that, first, these aperiodic metamaterials exhibit long-range holographic order, where the 2D pixelated surface texture dictates the 3D interior voxel arrangement. Second, they act as programmable shape shifters, morphing into spatially complex but predictable and designable shapes when uniaxially compressed. Third, their mechanical response to compression by a textured surface reveals their ability to perform sensing and pattern analysis. Combinatorial design thus opens a new avenue towards mechanical metamaterials with unusual order and machine-like functionalities.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2016

Jamming vs. Caging in Three Dimensional Jamming Percolation

We investigate a three-dimensional kinetically-constrained model that exhibits two types of phase transitions at different densities. At the jamming density $ ρ_J $ there is a mixed-order phase transition in which a finite fraction of the particles become frozen, but the other particles may still diffuse throughout the system. At the caging density $ ρ_C > ρ_J $, the mobile particles are trapped in finite cages and no longer diffuse. The caging transition occurs due to a percolation transition of the unfrozen sites, and we numerically find that it is a continuous transition with the same critical exponents as random percolation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗