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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Swarming of micron-sized hematite cubes in a rotating magnetic field -- Experiments

Emmanuelle DuboisM. BricsRégine PerzynskiGuntars KitenbergsOksana PetrichenkoAndrejs Cēbers

subject

[PHYS]Physics [physics]010302 applied physicsRotating magnetic fieldMaterials scienceSwarming (honey bee)Swarm behaviourFOS: Physical sciencesAngular velocity02 engineering and technologyField frequencyHematiteCondensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter021001 nanoscience & nanotechnologyCondensed Matter Physics01 natural sciencesMolecular physicsElectronic Optical and Magnetic MaterialsMagnetic fieldvisual_art0103 physical sciencesvisual_art.visual_art_medium[CHIM]Chemical SciencesMagnetic nanoparticlesSoft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)0210 nano-technology

description

Energy input by under-field rotation of particles drives the systems to emergent non-equilibrium states. Here we investigate the suspension of rotating magnetic cubes. Micron-sized hematite cubes are synthesized and observed microscopically. When exposed to a rotating magnetic field, they form rotating swarms that interact with each other like liquid droplets. We describe the swarming behaviour and its limits and characterize swarm size and angular velocity dependence on magnetic field strength and frequency. A quantitative agreement with a theoretical model is found for the angular velocity of swarms as a function of field frequency. It is interesting to note that hematite particles with peanut or ellipsoidal shapes do not form swarms.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2020-04-01
https://dx.doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1908.06436