CHIAGRAM · Chiral Active Granular Matter

In this proposal, chiral active granular matter (CHIAGRAM) is designed and investigated through a combination of numerical, experimental, and theoretical studies. Granular particles are characterized by collisions that dissipate energy and have been recently “activated” by breaking the translational symmetry of their shapes or internal components. The novelty of this proposal lies in the introduction of chirality through the breaking of the rotational symmetry. The resulting CHIAGRAM will be characterized by a broad range of fascinating single-particle and collective phenomena, such as circular motion, clustering, hyperuniformity, and spatial velocity correlations, whose properties will be systematically investigated through experiments and theoretical models. The implementation of an airflow mechanism and the behaviour of CHIAGRAM under flow will represent an intriguing forward research step in the field of (active) granular systems and, more generally, active matter. Emergent properties, such as negative mobility, odd diffusivity, as well as long-range collective phenomena, are expected because of the interplay between airflow and chirality. The project will fundamentally benefit from the expertise of my supervisor, a world-leading and pioneering scientist in the field of (chiral) active matter, as well as from the experimental and theoretical support provided by the secondment host, a world-leading expert in (active) granular systems. CHIAGRAM will distinguish for originality, proposing a novel granular material with fascinating properties that will open a new research line of experimental and theoretical investigation bridging active chirality and granular matter.