title: Curling Liquid Crystal Microswimmers: A Cascade of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking.
abstract: We report curling self-propulsion in aqueous emulsions of common mesogenic compounds. Nematic liquid crystal droplets self-propel in a surfactant solution with concentrations above the critical micelle concentration while undergoing micellar solubilization [Herminghaus et al., Soft Matter 10, 7008 (2014)]. We analyzed trajectories both in a Hele-Shaw geometry and in a 3D setup at variable buoyancy. The coupling between the nematic director field and the convective flow inside the droplet leads to a second symmetry breaking which gives rise to curling motion in 2D. This is demonstrated through a reversible transition to nonhelical persistent swimming by heating to the isotropic phase. Furthermore, autochemotaxis can spontaneously break the inversion symmetry, leading to helical trajectories in 3D.
authors: Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), Am Faßberg 17, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors: Carsten
authors: C
authors: Krüger
authors: Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), Am Faßberg 17, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors: Gunnar
authors: G
authors: Klös
authors: Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), Am Faßberg 17, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Bahr
authors: Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), Am Faßberg 17, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors: Corinna C
authors: CC
authors: Maass