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PreprintarXiv licencearXiv

Competing routes to spontaneous flow in confined active nematics

  • Rahil N. Valani
  • Vedad Dzanic
  • Julia M. Yeomans
  • Sumesh P. Thampi
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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.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{valani2026competing,
  title = {{Competing routes to spontaneous flow in confined active nematics}},
  author = {Rahil N. Valani and Vedad Dzanic and Julia M. Yeomans and Sumesh P. Thampi},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.20786},
  eprint = {2609.20786},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20786},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Competing routes to spontaneous flow in confined active nematics
AU  - Rahil N. Valani
AU  - Vedad Dzanic
AU  - Julia M. Yeomans
AU  - Sumesh P. Thampi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/05
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.20786
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20786
AB  - 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.
ER  -