Chiral flow in a binary mixture of two-dimensional active disks

Abstract

We study, experimentally, the dynamics of a binary mixture of air-fluidized disks. The disks are chiral since they incorporate a set of blades with constant tilt. Both species are identical except for their blades tilt angle, which is rotated by 180 o in the second species. We analyze the phase behavior of the system. Our analysis reveals a wide range of different fluid dynamics, including chiral flow. This chiral flow features in its base state a large vortex. We report, for certain ranges of relative particle density of each species, inversion of the vorticity of this vortex. We discuss on the possible mechanisms behind these chiral flow transitions.