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The interfacial stiffness for nematic–smectic B (nm–smB) interface in a liquid crystalline (LC) material is calculated using Capillary Wave Theory (CWT) and molecular dynamics simulations. The Gay–Berne (GB) pair potential with parameters κ, κ′, μ, and ν equal to 3, 5, 2, and 1 is used to model the LC material. Using a smart three-step recipe, we have obtained an nm–smB phase coexistence in our simulations where the nm and smB directors are nearly parallel to each other and perpendicular to the interface normal. The density profiles are used to compute the nm–smB coexisting density range, the interfacial width, and its position. The smectic phase is differentiated from the nematic phase by using the local bond order parameter (q6q6), which has helped us to demonstrate that the interface is indeed rough. Finally, the interfacial stiffness of the nm–smB interface is computed by following the CWT analysis and is found to be γ ̃ n m − s m B = 0.398 61 k B T / σ e e 2 = 0.044 29 / σ s s 2 , where σee and σss are the length and diameter of the GB LC particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid crystalline (LC) materials are ubiquitous in our modern life. Most of the applications where LC materials find their use depend on maintaining the orientation of the constituent LC particles. In this article, we report a recipe to control the molecular orientation. We have done a computer simulation study of a two-dimensional (2D) liquid crystalline material consisting of soft ellipses. The pair interaction is modelled by using the Gay–Berne potential. The 2D LC material is set to interact with an underlying substrate which varies periodically in one-dimension (1D) only. By controlling the substrate parameters like periodicity and strength, we showed that a nematic phase LC material transitions into different novel phases. We finally show that by applying a substrate with large periodicity, the substrate strength can be used as a control parameter to steer the LC director. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the behavior of the noncommutative radiating Schwarzschild black hole in the Finslerian spacetime. The investigation shows that black hole possesses either (i) two horizons, or (ii) a single horizon, or (iii) no horizon corresponding to a minimal mass. We obtain that the minimal mass significantly changes with the Finslerian parameter, keeping minimal horizon remain unchanged. It turns out that under Finslerian spacetime, the maximum temperature before cooling down to absolute zero varies with the Finslerian parameter. We then study the stability of the black hole by analyzing the specific heat and free energy. The energy conditions, their violation limit also scrutinized. Our findings suggest a stable black hole remnant, whose mass and size are uniquely determined in terms of the Finslerian parameter and noncommutative parameter χ. The physical relevance of these results are discussed in a brief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report on a study of the anisotropic strange stars under Finsler geometry. Keeping in mind that Finsler spacetime is not merely a generalization of Riemannian geometry rather the main idea is the projectivized tangent bundle of the manifold 𝕄 , we have developed the respective field equations. Thereafter, we consider the strange quark distribution inside the stellar system followed by the MIT bag model equation-of-state (EoS). To find out the stability and also the physical acceptability of the stellar configuration, we perform in detail some basic physical tests of the proposed model. The results of the testing show that the system is consistent with the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff (TOV) equation, Herrera cracking concept, different energy conditions and adiabatic index. One important result that we observe is, the anisotropic stress reaches the maximum at the surface of the stellar configuration. We calculate (i) the maximum mass as well as the corresponding radius, (ii) the central density of the strange stars for finite values of bag constant B g and (iii) the fractional binding energy of the system. This study shows that Finsler geometry is especially suitable to explain massive stellar systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a generalized model for compact stars, assumed to be anisotropic in nature due to the presence of highly dense and ultra-relativistic matter distribution. After embedding the 4D Riemannian space locally and isometrically into a 5D pseudo-Euclidean space, we solve the Einstein equations by employing a class of physically acceptable metric functions. The physical properties determined include the anisotropic factor showing that the anisotropy is zero at the center and maximum at the surface. Other boundary conditions yield the values of various parameters needed for rendering the numerous plots and also led to the EOS parameters. It is further determined that the usual energy conditions are satisfied and that the compact structures are stable, based on several criteria, viz., the equilibrium of forces, Herrera cracking concept, adiabatic index, etc. We note that the proposed stellar model satisfies the Buchdahl condition. Finally, the values of the numerous constants and physical parameters are determined, specifically for the compact stellar object LMC X − 4 , which we choose as a representative of the compact stars to present the analysis of the obtained results. Finally, we show that the present generalized model can justify most of the compact stars including white dwarfs and ultra-dense compact stars for a suitable tuning of the parametric values of n. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hard-sphere fluids confined between parallel plates at a distance D apart are studied for a wide range of packing fractions including also the onset of crystallization, applying Monte Carlo simulation techniques and density functional theory. The walls repel the hard spheres (of diameter σ) with a Weeks-Chandler-Andersen (WCA) potential VWCA(z) = 4[variant_greek_epsilon][(σw/z)12 - (σw/z)6 + 1/4], with range σw = σ/2. We vary the strength [variant_greek_epsilon] over a wide range and the case of simple hard walls is also treated for comparison. By the variation of [variant_greek_epsilon] one can change both the surface excess packing fraction and the wall-fluid (γwf) and wall-crystal (γwc) surface free energies. Several different methods to extract γwf and γwc from Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are implemented, and their accuracy and efficiency is comparatively discussed. The density functional theory (DFT) using fundamental measure functionals is found to be quantitatively accurate over a wide range of packing fractions; small deviations between DFT and MC near the fluid to crystal transition need to be studied further. Our results on density profiles near soft walls could be useful to interpret corresponding experiments with suitable colloidal dispersions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study a specific model of anisotropic strange stars in the modified |$f\left(R,\mathcal {T}\right)$| -type gravity by deriving solutions to the modified Einstein field equations representing a spherically symmetric anisotropic stellar object. We take a standard assumption that |$f(R,\mathcal {T})=R+2\chi \mathcal {T}$|⁠, where R is Ricci scalar, |$\mathcal {T}$| is the trace of the energy–momentum tensor of matter, and χ is a coupling constant. To obtain our solution to the modified Einstein equations, we successfully apply the 'embedding class one' techniques. We also consider the case when the strange quark matter (SQM) distribution is governed by the simplified MIT bag model equation of state given by |$p_r=\frac{1}{3}\left(\rho -4B\right)$|⁠, where B is bag constant. We calculate the radius of the strange star candidates by directly solving the modified TOV equation with the observed values of the mass and some parametric values of B and χ. The physical acceptability of our solutions is verified by performing several physical tests. Interestingly, besides the SQM, another type of matter distribution originates due to the effect of coupling between the matter and curvature terms in the |$f\left(R,\mathcal {T}\right)$| gravity theory. Our study shows that with decreasing the value of χ, the stellar systems under investigations become gradually massive and larger in size, turning them into less dense compact objects. It also reveals that for χ < 0 the |$f\left(R,\mathcal {T}\right)$| gravity emerges as a suitable theory for explaining the observed massive stellar objects like massive pulsars, super-Chandrasekhar stars, and magnetars, etc. which remain obscure in the standard framework of General Relativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a strange stellar model using Tolman V-type metric potential employing simplest form of the MIT bag equation of state (EOS) for the quark matter. We consider that the stellar system is spherically symmetric, compact and made of an anisotropic fluid. Choosing different values of n we obtain exact solutions of the Einstein field equations and finally conclude that for a specific value of the parameter n=1/2, we find physically acceptable features of the stellar object. Further, we conduct different physical tests, viz., the energy condition, generalized Tolman–Oppeheimer–Volkoff (TOV) equation, Herrera’s cracking concept, etc., to confirm the physical validity of the presented model. Matching conditions provide expressions for different constants whereas maximization of the anisotropy parameter provides bag constant. By using the observed data of several compact stars, we derive exact values of some of the physical parameters and exhibit their features in tabular form. It is to note that our predicted value of the bag constant satisfies the report of CERN-SPS and RHIC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we attempt to find a singularity free solution of Einstein’s field equations for compact stellar objects, precisely strange (quark) stars, considering Schwarzschild metric as the exterior spacetime. To this end, we consider that the stellar object is spherically symmetric, static and anisotropic in nature and follows the density profile given by Mak and Harko (2002) , which satisfies all the physical conditions. To investigate different properties of the ultra-dense strange stars we have employed the MIT bag model for the quark matter. Our investigation displays an interesting feature that the anisotropy of compact stars increases with the radial coordinate and attains its maximum value at the surface which seems an inherent property for the singularity free anisotropic compact stellar objects. In this connection we also perform several tests for physical features of the proposed model and show that these are reasonably acceptable within certain range. Further, we find that the model is consistent with the energy conditions and the compact stellar structure is stable with the validity of the TOV equation and Herrera cracking concept. For the masses below the maximum mass point in mass vs radius curve the typical behavior achieved within the framework of general relativity. We have calculated the maximum mass and radius of the strange stars for the three finite values of bag constant B g . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Materials of the future will exhibit bio-inspired behavior that enables a range of novel applications. We review computational studies on reactive gels that reveal how to tailor the gels and external stimuli to impart this biomimetic functionality. For example, photo-responsive gels can be ‘molded’ by light into various three-dimensional shapes, permitting a single sample to have multiple uses. Reactive gels undergoing the Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction ‘communicate’ to form self-rotating gears, which could perform autonomous work. Finally, nanorod-filled reactive gels effectively regenerate the gel matrix when a layer of the material is sliced-off and thus, dramatically extend the material's life time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer gels undergoing the oscillating Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction exhibit an autonomous, periodic swelling and deswelling, where the mechanical oscillations are driven by the chemical reaction within the polymer network. Using computer simulations, we show that these BZ gels can undergo a form of auto-chemotaxis, enabling the gels to spontaneously move in response to self-generated chemical gradients. Focusing on four millimeter-sized pieces of these BZ gels, we show that the pieces can organize into self-rotating clusters that resemble a moving pinwheel or gear. By analyzing the factors that promote the formation of a single self-rotating cluster, we attempt to design systems of multiple, interacting gears. We show that light, which suppresses the oscillations of the gels, can be harnessed to promote the formation of two self-rotating clusters. These studies point to a novel form of photo-chemo-mechanical transduction, where light is utilized to control the conversion of chemical and mechanical energy in the system. Moreover, the interaction between the BZ gel gears reveals a new form of entrainment between these moving units. Namely, their coordinated motion is achieved through chemical coupling or communication, rather than a mechanical coupling. These findings can lead to the formation of chemically “communicating” devices that can be programmed to perform autonomous work through the use of light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colloidal systems are often modeled as fluids of hard particles (possibly with an additional soft attraction, e.g. caused by polymers also contained in the suspension). In simulations of such systems, the virial theorem cannot be straightforwardly applied to obtain the components of the pressure tensor. In systems confined by walls, it is hence also not straightforward to extract the excess energy due to the wall (the 'wall tension') from the pressure tensor anisotropy. A comparative evaluation of several methods to circumvent this problem is presented, using as examples fluids of hard spheres and the Asakura-Oosawa model of colloid-polymer mixtures with a size ratio q = 0.15 (for which the effect of the polymers can be integrated out to yield an effective attractive potential between the colloids). Factors limiting the accuracy of the various methods are carefully discussed, and controlling these factors very good mutual agreement between the various methods is found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present spherically symmetric anisotropic charged strange stars under the framework of f (R , T) gravity. For this we consider that the Lagrangian density is a linear function of R and T where R is the Ricci Scalar and T represents the trace of the energy–momentum tensor. These stars are considered to be built with Strange Quark Matter (SQM) distribution. To describe this SQM distribution inside the stellar bodies, we incorporate the simplest form of phenomenological MIT bag model equation of state (EOS) p r = 1 3 (ρ − 4 B g) , where p r is the radial pressure, ρ is the energy density and B g is the bag constant. To determine density and pressure from the Einstein Field Equations (EFE), we use Krori-Barua (KB) metric and using the observed values of mass and radius for strange star candidates L M C X − 4 , we calculate the value of B g from our model. Comparing the interior metric with exterior Reissner-Nordström metric at the surface, we calculate the unknown parameters incorporating the observed values of the mass and radius, we find that the coupling constant χ affects the bag value significantly. The model shows consistency with all the physical conditions and presents a viable study to the nature of charged anisotropic massive stellar system. • We study anisotropic charged strange stars under f (R , T) gravity. • Physical parameters are calculated with the help of observed values of stars. • Bag constant reduces with the increasing value of coupling constant. • Solutions provide a stable non-singular model for strange stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate a simplified model of the strange stars in the framework of Finslerian geometry, composed of charged fluid. It is considered that the fluid consisting of three flavor quarks including a small amount of non-interacting electrons to maintain the chemical equilibrium and assumed that the fluid is compressible by nature. To obtain the simplified form of the charged strange star we have considered constant flag curvature. Based on geometry, we have developed the field equations within the localized charge distribution. We consider that the strange quarks distributed within the stellar system are complied with the MIT bag model type of equation of state (EOS) and the charge distribution within the system follows a power law. We represent the exterior spacetime by the Finslerian Ressiner-Nordström space-time. The maximum anisotropic stress is obtained at the surface of the system. Whether the system is in equilibrium or not, has been examined with respect to the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff (TOV) equation, Herrera cracking concept, different energy conditions and adiabatic index. We obtain that the total charge is of the order of 10 20 C and the corresponding electric field is of around 10 22 V/m . The central density and central pressure vary inversely with the charge. Varying the free parameter (charge constant) of the model, we find the generalized mass-radius variation of strange stars and determine the maximum limited mass with the corresponding radius. Furthermore, we also considered the variation of mass and radius against central density respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asakura-Oosawa model for colloid-polymer mixtures is studied by Monte Carlo simulations at densities inside the two-phase coexistence region of fluid and solid. Choosing a geometry where the system is confined between two flat walls, and a wall-colloid potential that leads to incomplete wetting of the crystal at the wall, conditions can be created where a single nanoscopic wall-attached crystalline cluster coexists with fluid in the remainder of the simulation box. Following related ideas that have been useful to study heterogeneous nucleation of liquid droplets at the vapor-liquid coexistence, we estimate the contact angles from observations of the crystalline clusters in thermal equilibrium. We find fair agreement with a prediction based on Young's equation, using estimates of interface and wall tension from the study of flat surfaces. It is shown that the pressure versus density curve of the finite system exhibits a loop, but the pressure maximum signifies the 'droplet evaporation-condensation' transition and thus has nothing in common with a van der Waals-like loop. Preparing systems where the packing fraction is deep inside the two-phase coexistence region, the system spontaneously forms a 'slab state,' with two wall-attached crystalline domains separated by (flat) interfaces from liquid in full equilibrium with the crystal in between; analysis of such states allows a precise estimation of the bulk equilibrium properties at phase coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wideband timing technique enables the high-precision simultaneous estimation of pulsar times of arrival (ToAs) and dispersion measures (DMs) while effectively modelling frequency-dependent profile evolution. We present two novel independent methods that extend the standard wideband technique to handle simultaneous multiband pulsar data incorporating profile evolution over a larger frequency span to estimate DMs and ToAs with enhanced precision. We implement the wideband likelihood using the libstempo python interface to perform wideband timing in the tempo2 framework. We present the application of these techniques to the data set of 14 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) observed simultaneously in Band 3 (300–500 MHz) and Band 5 (1260–1460 MHz) of the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) with a large band gap of 760 MHz as a part of the Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) campaign. We achieve increased ToA and DM precision and sub-microsecond root mean square post-fit timing residuals by combining simultaneous multiband pulsar observations done in non-contiguous bands for the first time using our novel techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, we attempt to find a new class of solutions for the spherically symmetric perfect fluid sphere by employing the homotopy perturbation method (HPM), a new tool via which the mass polynomial function facilitates to tackle the Einstein field equations. A set of interior solutions found on the basis of the simplest MIT bag model equation of state in the form p=13(ρ-4B) where B is the bag constant. The proposed interior metric for the stellar system is consistent with the exterior Schwarzschild spacetime on the boundary. In addition, we also conduct a detailed study on different tests, viz. the energy conditions, TOV equation, adiabatic index, Buchdahl limit, etc., to verify the physical validity of the proposed model. The numerical value of the used parameters are predicted for different strange star candidates, for different chosen values of the bag constant. In a nutshell, by exploiting HPM technique first time ever in the field of relativistic astrophysics, we have predicted in the present literature a singularity-free and stable stellar model which is suitable to describe ultra-dense objects, like strange (quark) stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We attempt to study a singularity-free model for the spherically symmetric anisotropic strange stars under Einstein’s general theory of relativity by exploiting the Tolman-Kuchowicz (Tolman in Phys Rev 55:364, 1939; Kuchowicz in Acta Phys Pol 33:541, 1968) metric. Further, we have assumed that the cosmological constant Λ is a scalar variable dependent on the spatial coordinate r. To describe the strange star candidates we have considered that they are made of strange quark matter distribution, which is assumed to be governed by the MIT bag equation of state. To obtain unknown constants of the stellar system we match the interior Tolman-Kuchowicz metric to the exterior modified Schwarzschild metric with the cosmological constant, at the surface of the system. Following Deb et al. (Ann Phys 387:239, 2017) we have predicted the exact values of the radii for different strange star candidates based on the observed values of the masses of the stellar objects and the chosen parametric values of the Λ as well as the bag constant B. The set of solutions satisfies all the physical requirements to represent strange stars. Interestingly, our study reveals that as the values of the Λ and B increase the anisotropic system become gradually smaller in size turning the whole system into a more compact ultra-dense stellar object. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present here a detailed analysis on the effects of charge on the anisotropic strange star candidates by considering a spherically symmetric interior spacetime metric. To obtain exact solution of the Einstein-Maxwell field equations we have considered the anisotropic strange quark matter (SQM) distribution governed by the simplified MIT bag equation of state (EOS), p=13ρ-4B, where B is the bag constant and the distribution of the electrical charge is given as q(r)=Qr/R3=αr3, where α is a constant. To calculate different constants we have described the exterior spacetime by the Reissner-Nordström metric. By using the values of the observed mass for the different strange star candidates we have maximized anisotropic stress at the surface to predict the exact values of the radius for the different values of α and a specific value of the bag constant. Further, we perform different tests to study the physical validity and the stability of the proposed stellar model. We found accumulation of the electric charge distribution is maximum at the surface having electric charge of the order 1020C and electric field of the order 1021-22 V/cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore wormhole geometry in spiral galaxies under the third order Lovelock gravity. Using the cubic spline interpolation technique, we find the rotational velocity of test particles in the halo region of our spiral galaxy from observed values of radial distances and rotational velocities. Taking this value of the rotational velocity, we are able to show that it is possible to present a mathematical model regarding viable existence of wormholes in the galactic halo region of the Milky Way under the Lovelock gravity. A very important result that we obtain from the present investigation is that galactic wormhole in the halo region can exist with normal matter as well as exotic matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of strange stars mixed with dark energy to be one of the candidates for dark energy stars is the main issue of the present study. Our investigation shows that quark matter atcs as dark energy after a certain yet unknown critical condition inside the quark stars. Our proposed model reveals that strange stars mixed with dark energy feature a physically acceptable stable model and mimic characteristics of dark energy stars. The plausible connections are shown through the mass-radius relation as well as the entropy and temperature. We particularly note that a two-fluid distribution is a major reason for the anisotropic nature of the spherical stellar system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the synthesis of nanocrystalline calcium carbonate with varying particle sizes by precipitation techniques from an aqueous solution of calcium nitrate and sodium carbonate at controlled pH. The particle size of the carbonate powder was precisely controlled by changing the precursor concentration. The synthesized carbonate powders were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction technique, and transmission electron microscopy. The particle size, along with the crystallite size of as-synthesized carbonate powder, decreases with increasing precursor concentration. The non-isothermal decomposition kinetics of the carbonate powder was also evaluated by using near to the modified Arrhenius equation's exact solution. The experimental results were best fitted at n = 0.5, and the one-dimensional diffusion-controlled transport process mechanism (D 1) and one-dimensional phase boundary movement mechanism (R 1) was found to be very close fit of the corresponding evaluated g(α) value. The apparent activation energy of the nano calcium carbonate decomposition was found in the range of 120–175 kJ/mol, which is also inherently functioning with the average particle size. The apparent activation energy of decomposition of CaCO 3 found to be decreased with decreasing average particle size of nanocrystalline calcium carbonate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, we propose a stellar model under the f (T) gravity following the conjecture of Mazur-Mottola [1,2] known in literature as gravastar , a viable alternative to the black hole. This gravastar has three different regions, viz., (A) Interior core region, (B) Intermediate thin shell, and (C) Exterior spherical region. It is assumed that in the interior region the fluid pressure is equal to a negative matter-energy density providing a constant repulsive force over the spherical thin shell. This shell at the intermediate region is assumed to be formed by a fluid of ultrarelativistic plasma and the pressure, which is directly proportional to the matter-energy density according to Zel'dovich's conjecture of stiff fluid [Zel'dovich (1972) [3] , does nullify the repulsive force exerted by the interior core region for a stable configuration. On the other hand, the exterior spherical region can be described by the exterior Schwarzschild-de Sitter solution. With all these specifications we have found out a set of exact and singularity-free solutions of the gravastar which presents several physically interesting as well as valid features within the framework of alternative gravity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find a new family of exact solutions to the Einstein system of equations with an anisotropic fluid distribution for a spherically symmetric spacetime containing a conformal Killing vector. Simple analytic expressions describe the matter variables and the metric functions which are regular at the centre and the interior of the body. We demonstrate that the new class of exact solutions is physically reasonable and may be utilized to model a compact object. A detailed graphical analysis of the matter variables shows that the criteria for physical acceptability are satisfied. The energy conditions are satisfied, causality is not violated, and the body is stable in terms of cracking, the Harrison-Zeldovich-Novikov stability criterion, and the adiabatic index inequality. It is, therefore, possible to geometrically describe a compact object with a conformal symmetry for an astrophysical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a family of relativistic fluid spheres using the Karmarkar criterion along with the Pandey–Sharma condition. Ranges of n and m for well-behaved solutions depend on the mass and radius of the compact star model. As an example, we have chosen Vela X-1 (M = 1. 7 7 M ⊙ , R = 9. 5 6 km) for complete analysis of the solutions. For the same star, the well-behaved ranges are 1 < n < 5 and 3 < m < 1 3. However, beyond these limits, either the transversal sound speed becomes imaginary or violates the causality principle. Further, the critical part of our solution is that corresponding to every nonzero positive even value of m yields zero values of all the physical quantities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study we search for a new stellar model with spherically symmetric matter and a charged distribution in a general relativistic framework. The model represents a compact star of embedding class 1. The solutions obtained here are general in nature, having the following two features: first of all, the metric becomes flat and also the expressions for the pressure, energy density, and electric charge become zero in all the cases if we consider the constant A = 0, which shows that our solutions represent the so-called 'electromagnetic mass model' [17], and, secondly, the metric function ν(r), for the limit n tending to infinity, converts to v(r) = Cr² + ln B, which is the same as considered by Maurya et al. [11]. We have investigated several physical aspects of the model and find that all the features are acceptable within the requirements of contemporary theoretical studies and observational evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species ranging from single-cell organisms to social insects can undergo auto-chemotaxis, where the entities move towards a chemo-attractant that they themselves emit. Polymer gels undergoing the self-oscillating Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction exhibit autonomous, periodic pulsations, which produce chemical species collectively referred to as the activator. The diffusion of this activator into the surrounding solution affects the dynamic behavior of neighboring BZ gels and hence, the BZ gels not only emit, but also respond to self-generated chemical gradients. This review describes recent experimental and computational studies that reveal how this biomimetic behavior effectively allows neighboring BZ gels to undergo cooperative, self-propelled motion. These distinctive properties of the BZ gels provide a route for creating reconfigurable materials that autonomously communicate with neighboring units and thereby actively participate in constructing the desired structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]