| Issue |
EPL
Volume 154, Number 1, April 2026
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 17001 | |
| Number of page(s) | 7 | |
| Section | Biological and soft matter physics | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/ae51bf | |
| Published online | 30 March 2026 | |
Three-dimensional contractile droplet under confinement(a)
1 Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - via dei Taurini 19, 00185 Roma, Italy
2 INFN “Tor Vergata” - via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy
3 Department of Civil, Computer Science and Aeronautical Technologies Engineering, Roma Tre University via Vito Volterra 62, 00146 Rome, Italy
4 Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia - viale Regina Elena 295, 00161 Rome, Italy
5 Department of Physics, Harvard University - 17 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Received: 17 February 2026
Accepted: 13 March 2026
Abstract
We numerically study the dynamics of a three-dimensional contractile fluid droplet in the bulk and under confinement. We show that varying activity leads to a variety of shapes and motile regimes whose motion is driven by an interplay between spontaneous flows and elasticity. In the bulk the droplet self-propels unidirectionally, acquiring either an almost spherical shape at intermediate activity or a peanut-like geometry for larger values. Under confinement, the droplet exhibits a previously unreported oscillating dynamics characterized by periodic hits against opposite walls of a microchannel while moving forward. These results could be of interest for the study of artificial microswimmers and their biological analogs, such as living cells.
Contribution to the Focus Issue on Complex Flows and Complex Fluids edited by Alessandra S. Lanotte, Massimo Cencini, Luca Biferale and Adriano Barra.
© 2026 The author(s)
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