Twitching fiberboids in the collective : A table-top, one-dimensional, active particle gas
Abstract
Fiberboids are filaments that self-propel by rolling along a surface due to a flux normal to that surface. In the last few years, fibers using several materials and driving mechanisms have been developed that are able to roll persistently. Here we show using thermally driven nylon fibers on a slightly curved glass surface, that fiberboids also come in another state, that we call ``twitching'': the fiber rolls for a short time and then switches direction, implementing on large scales a diffusion-like motion. We rationalize the occurrence of this effect and experimentally quantify this new dynamic state. We then analyze ensembles of twitching fiberboids and by confining the fibers inside a circular arena to allow them to roll on a single axis only, we implement a simple, table-top realization of a one-dimensional non-equilibrium active gas. We study experimentally active cluster formation, their non-equilibrium dynamics and we rationalize the observations by a simple lattice model. This model takes into account a Viscek-like alignment of the velocity directions of the individual particles within clusters to yield good qualitative agreement with the experiments. Overall our work opens the path to study collectives of self-rolling fibers as an interesting new class of active matter.
Related
- Collective diffusion of anisotropic hard-particle mixtures
- Exploring Collective Effects in Small Collision Systems via Light-Flavour Particle Production in High-Multiplicity pp Collisions at √s= 13 TeV in ALICE
- Transport, Hall Effect, and Collective Dynamics of Driven Particles in Active Chiral Media
- Collective order reorganizes dissipation and powers an active engine
- Self-organization and collective migration of active condensates
BibTeX
@misc{arnhold2026twitching,
title = {{Twitching fiberboids in the collective : A table-top, one-dimensional, active particle gas}},
author = {Alex Arnhold and Falko Ziebert and Igor M. Kulić},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.26087},
eprint = {2610.26087},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05840616v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Twitching fiberboids in the collective : A table-top, one-dimensional, active particle gas
AU - Alex Arnhold
AU - Falko Ziebert
AU - Igor M. Kulić
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
PB - HAL
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.26087
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05840616v1
AB - Fiberboids are filaments that self-propel by rolling along a surface due to a flux normal to that surface. In the last few years, fibers using several materials and driving mechanisms have been developed that are able to roll persistently. Here we show using thermally driven nylon fibers on a slightly curved glass surface, that fiberboids also come in another state, that we call ``twitching'': the fiber rolls for a short time and then switches direction, implementing on large scales a diffusion-like motion. We rationalize the occurrence of this effect and experimentally quantify this new dynamic state. We then analyze ensembles of twitching fiberboids and by confining the fibers inside a circular arena to allow them to roll on a single axis only, we implement a simple, table-top realization of a one-dimensional non-equilibrium active gas. We study experimentally active cluster formation, their non-equilibrium dynamics and we rationalize the observations by a simple lattice model. This model takes into account a Viscek-like alignment of the velocity directions of the individual particles within clusters to yield good qualitative agreement with the experiments. Overall our work opens the path to study collectives of self-rolling fibers as an interesting new class of active matter.
ER -