  Using Brownian Dynamics simulations, we study effective interactions mediated
between two identical and impermeable disks (inclusions) immersed in a bath of
identical, active (self-propelled), Brownian rods in two spatial dimensions, by
assuming that the self-propulsion axis of the rods may generally deviate from
their longitudinal axis. When the self-propulsion is transverse (perpendicular
to the rod axis), the accumulation of active rods around the inclusions is
significantly enhanced, causing a more expansive steric layering (ring
formation) of the rods around the inclusions, as compared with the reference
case of longitudinally self-propelling rods. As a result, the transversally
self-propelling rods also mediate a significantly longer ranged effective
interaction between the inclusions. The bath-mediated interaction arises due to
the overlaps between the active-rod rings formed around the inclusions, as they
are brought into small separations. When the self-propulsion axis is tilted
relative to the rod axis, we find an asymmetric imbalance of active-rod
accumulation around the inclusion dimer. This leads to a noncentral
interaction, featuring an anti-parallel pair of transverse force components
and, hence, a bath-mediated torque on the dimer.
