{
  "abstract": "Active nematics can spontaneously develop flow beyond a critical activity in confined geometries. We show analytically that the onset of flow is governed by two competing instabilities: a long-wavelength mode leading to unidirectional flow and a finite-wavelength instability producing transverse rolls. A reduced description reveals how activity, flow alignment, and nematic elasticity control the competition between these modes. We identify regimes in which the finite-wavelength instability has a lower critical activity than the long-wavelength instability, causing vortices to emerge before unidirectional flow. This establishes wavelength selection as an intrinsic feature of the onset of spontaneous flow in active nematics.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.20786",
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Rahil N. Valani"
    },
    {
      "name": "Vedad Dzanic"
    },
    {
      "name": "Julia M. Yeomans"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sumesh P. Thampi"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fje33ajgnfvnk.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.20786",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "fje33ajgnfvnk",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20786",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.soft"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2504|Liquid Crystal Research Advancements"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213591874",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.20786",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-05",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fje33ajgnfvnk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:27:01Z",
      "native_id": "2609.20786",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20786"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.soft",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Competing routes to spontaneous flow in confined active nematics",
  "title_text": "Competing routes to spontaneous flow in confined active nematics",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:27:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fje33ajgnfvnk",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}