Abstract

Chiral molecules form a plethora of liquid-crystalline phases, even in equilibrium. Liquid-crystalline phases formed by chiral and active agents have features that are however significantly more counterintuitive. For instance, while in passive matter, chirality tends to cloak itself from the long-wavelength elastic and hydrodynamic properties, activity reveals its effect in cholesteric and chiral columnar phases, leading to unique forms of odd elastic behaviours. The interplay of chirality and activity also leads to liquid-crystalline phases without any passive analogue, such as time liquid crystals. In this talk, I will demonstrate how the interplay of chirality and activity allows the former to affect dynamic and static properties of ordered states unlike in passive soft materials.