  Transport at microscopic length scales is essential in biological systems and
various technologies, including microfluidics. Recent experiments achieved
self-organized transport phenomena in microtubule active matter using light to
modulate motor-protein activity in time and space. Here, we introduce a novel
phenomenological model to explain such experiments. Our model, based on
spatially modulated particle interactions, reveals a possible mechanism for
emergent transport phenomena in light-controlled active matter, including
motility and contraction. In particular, the model's analytic treatment
elucidates the conservation of the center of mass of activated particles as a
fundamental mechanism of material transport and demonstrates the necessity of
memory for sustained motility. Furthermore, we generalize the model to explain
other phenomena, like microtubule aster-aster interactions induced by more
complicated activation geometries. Our results demonstrate that the model
provides a possible foundation for the phenomenological understanding of
light-controlled active matter, and it will enable the design and optimization
of transport protocols for active matter devices.
