Propagating interfaces in mixtures of active and passive Brownian particles

The emergent collective dynamics in phase-separated mixtures of isometric active and passive Brownian particles is studied numerically in two-dimensions. A novel steady-state of well-defined propagating interfaces is observed, where the interface between the dense and the dilute phase propagates and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Adam Wysocki, Roland G Winkler, Gerhard Gompper
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2016-01-01
Series:New Journal of Physics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/aa529d
Description
Summary:The emergent collective dynamics in phase-separated mixtures of isometric active and passive Brownian particles is studied numerically in two-dimensions. A novel steady-state of well-defined propagating interfaces is observed, where the interface between the dense and the dilute phase propagates and the bulk of both phases is (nearly) at rest. Two kind of interfaces, advancing and receding, are formed by spontaneous symmetry breaking, induced by an instability of a planar interface due to the formation of localized vortices. The propagation arises due to flux imbalance at the interface, resembling the growth behavior of rough surfaces far from equilibrium. Above a threshold, the interface velocity decreases linearly with increasing fraction of active particles.
ISSN:1367-2630