{
  "abstract": "Plasmas sustain strong energy and momentum flux, yet this activity is typically treated as a dissipative loss channel rather than a usable resource, and its conversion into macroscopic work remains challenging. Here we demonstrate a plasma-powered active engine by coupling self-propelled micromotors to ratchet rectification. Dielectric microspheres in the plasma sheath spontaneously develop asymmetric surface charging and undergo a Quincke rotational instability, forming fast micromotors that extract energy directly from the plasma. Their stochastic impacts are rectified by a sawtooth rotor into a directed angular-momentum flux that drives steady rotation, while an outer asymmetric gear organizes the active bath into coherent circulation to amplify torque transfer. Operating in an inertia-relevant regime, the engine achieves orders-of-magnitude enhancements in both power output and end-to-end efficiency compared with liquid-phase active engines, and remains functional down to the single-micromotor limit. More broadly, our results establish a general route to rectify nonequilibrium plasma activity for macroscopic work.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.37257",
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Ting-yu Yao"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shuo Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shao-peng Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ming-hang Zhao"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bao-quan Ai"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ya-feng He"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ent5z9e4s9m0g.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.37257",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "ent5z9e4s9m0g",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.37257",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.soft"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.bio-ph"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.plasm-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3104|Micro and Nano Robotics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214916185",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.37257",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-29",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ent5z9e4s9m0g.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:25:31Z",
      "native_id": "2609.37257",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.37257"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:physics.bio-ph",
      "subfield": "biological-medical"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.soft",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:physics.plasm-ph",
      "subfield": "plasma"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Rectification of plasma-powered active matter into macroscopic work",
  "title_text": "Rectification of plasma-powered active matter into macroscopic work",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:25:31Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ent5z9e4s9m0g",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}