Dissipative Effects in Odd Viscous Stokes Flow around a Single Sphere.

Odd viscosity (OV) is a transport coefficient in, for example, fluids of self-spinning (active) particles or electrons in an external magnetic field. The key feature of OV is that it does not contribute to dissipation in two spatial dimensions. In contrast, we explicitly show that in the three-dimensional case, OV can contribute indirectly to dissipation by modifying the fluid flow.

Seeded stimulated X-ray emission at 5.9 keV.

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) provide intense pulses that can generate stimulated X-ray emission, a phenomenon that has been observed and studied in materials ranging from neon to copper. Two schemes have been employed: amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and seeded stimulated emission (SSE), where a second color XFEL pulse provides the seed. Both phenomena are currently explored for coherent X-ray laser sources and spectroscopy.

Nematronics: Reciprocal Coupling between Ionic Currents and Nematic Dynamics.

Adopting a spintronics-inspired approach, we study the reciprocal coupling between ionic charge currents and nematic texture dynamics in a uniaxial nematic electrolyte. Assuming quenched fluid dynamics, we develop equations of motion analogously to spin torque and spin pumping. Based on the principle of least dissipation of energy, we derive the adiabatic "nematic torque" exerted by ionic currents on the nematic director field as well as the reciprocal motive force on ions due to the orientational dynamics of the director.

Realization of the Brazil-nut effect in charged colloids without external driving.

Sedimentation is a ubiquitous phenomenon across many fields of science, such as geology, astrophysics, and soft matter. Sometimes, sedimentation leads to unusual phenomena, such as the Brazil-nut effect, where heavier (granular) particles reside on top of lighter particles after shaking. We show experimentally that a Brazil-nut effect can be realized in a binary colloidal system of long-range repulsive charged particles driven purely by Brownian motion and electrostatics without the need for activity.