Séminaire de l'INPHYNI: Corentin Coulais (Amsterdam)

Controlling how waves propagate, attenuate and amplify in simple, scalable geometric structures is a daunting challenge for science and technology. In this talk I will demonstrate how quintessential nonlinear waves—topological solitons—can be generated and driven in mechanical metamaterials  to achieve advanced on-demand tasks: non-commutative response, unidirectional wave guiding and filtering and robotic manipulation and locomotion. I will first show how non-orientable topology can guarantee the presence of solitons in a robust fashion; then that non-equilibrium phenomena such as viscoelastic dissipation and non-reciprocity can be used to drive solitons in unprecedented ways. In particular, we identify a novel mechanical to drive topological solitons by using non-reciprocity, which ensures that solitons and antisolitons are driven towards the same direction and enable "an endless domino effect" whereby trains of solitons and antisolitons can be continually be sent. Our work demonstrates that topological soliton allow to blur the boundary between materials and machines by reaching animate properties.


- “Non-reciprocal topological solitons in active metamaterials”
Veenstra J., Gamayun O., Guo, X., Sarvi A., Ventura Meinersen C. and Coulais C., Nature 627, 528-533 (2024)

- “Non-orientable order and non-commutative response in frustrated metamaterials”0
Guo X., Guzman M., Carpentier D., Bartolo D., Coulais C., Nature, 618, 506–512 (2023)
 
- “Diffusive kinks turn kirigami into machines"
Janbaz S. and Coulais C., Nat. Commun. 15, 1255 (2024)