No Arabic abstract
We study collections of self-propelled rods (SPR) moving in two dimensions for packing fractions less than or equal to 0.3. We find that in the thermodynamical limit the SPR undergo a phase transition between a disordered gas and a novel phase-separated system state. Interestingly, (global) orientational order patterns -- contrary to what has been suggested -- vanish in this limit. In the found novel state, the SPR self-organize into a highly dynamical, high-density, compact region - which we call aggregate - which is surrounded by a disordered gas. Active stresses build inside aggregates as result of the combined effect of local orientational order and active forces. This leads to the most distinctive feature of these aggregates: constant ejection of polar clusters of SPR. This novel phase-separated state represents a novel state of matter characterized by large fluctuations in volume and shape, related to mass ejection, and exhibits positional as well as orientational local order. SPR systems display new physics unseen in other active matter systems due to the coupling between density, active stresses, and orientational order (such coupling cannot be reduced simply to a coupling between speed and density).
We study the large deviations of the distribution P(W_tau) of the work associated with the propulsion of individual active brownian particles in a time interval tau, in the region of the phase diagram where macroscopic phase separation takes place. P(W_tau) is characterised by two peaks, associated to particles in the gaseous and in the clusterised phases, and two separate non-convex branches. Accordingly, the generating function of W_tau cumulants displays a double singularity. We discuss the origin of such non-convex branches in terms of the peculiar dynamics of the system phases, and the relation between the observation time tau and the typical persistence times of the particles in the two phases.
Using experiments with anisotropic vibrated rods and quasi-2D numerical simulations, we show that shape plays an important role in the collective dynamics of self-propelled (SP) particles. We demonstrate that SP rods exhibit local ordering, aggregation at the side walls, and clustering absent in round SP particles. Furthermore, we find that at sufficiently strong excitation SP rods engage in a persistent swirling motion in which the velocity is strongly correlated with particle orientation.
The symmetry of the alignment mechanism in systems of polar self-propelled particles determines the possible macroscopic large-scale patterns that can emerge. Here we compare polar and apolar alignment. These systems share some common features like giant number fluctuations in the ordered phase and self-segregation in the form of bands near the onset of orientational order. Despite these similarities, there are essential differences like the symmetry of the ordered phase and the stability of the bands.
Here, I review the large-scale properties of collections of active Brownian elongated objects, in particular rods, moving in a dissipative medium/substrate. I address the problem by presenting three different models of decreasing complexity, which I refer to as model I, II, and III, respectively.
Suitable asymmetric microstructures can be used to control the direction of motion in microorganism populations. This rectification process makes it possible to accumulate swimmers in a region of space or to sort different swimmers. Here we study numerically how the separation process depends on the specific motility strategies of the microorganisms involved. Crucial properties such as the separation efficiency and the separation time for two bacterial strains are precisely defined and evaluated. In particular, the sorting of two bacterial populations inoculated in a box consisting of a series of chambers separated by columns of asymmetric obstacles is investigated. We show how the sorting efficiency is enhanced by these obstacles and conclude that this kind of sorting can be efficiently used even when the involved populations differ only in one aspect of their swimming strategy.