  A surface in contact with the isotropic phase of a passive liquid crystal can
induce nematic order over distances that range from microscopic to macroscopic
when the nematic-isotropic interface undergoes an orientational-wetting
transition. If the nematic is active, what happens to the interface? Does it
propagate and, if it does, is its structure different from the passive one? In
this paper, we address these questions. We investigate how the active
nematic-isotropic interface is affected by the anchoring strength of the
surface, the bulk ordering field and the activity. We find that while passive
interfaces are one-dimensional the active ones exhibit two dynamical regimes: a
passive-like regime and a propagating regime where the interfaces propagate
until the entire domain is active nematic. Active interfaces break the
translational symmetry within the interfacial plane above a threshold activity,
where the active nematic fluctuations, which are ultimately responsible for the
emergence of an active turbulent nematic phase, drive non-steady dynamical
interfacial regimes.
