No Arabic abstract
We study coarse-grained density fluctuations in the disordered phase of the paradigmatic Vicsek-like models of self-propelled particles with alignment interactions and random self-propulsion velocities. By numerically integrating a fluctuation-response relation - the direct consequence of an additivity property, we compute logarithm of the large-deviation probabilities of the coarse-grained subsystem density, while the system is in the disordered fluid phase with vanishing macroscopic velocity. The large-deviation probabilities, computed within additivity, agree remarkably well with that obtained from direct microscopic simulations of the models. Our results provide an evidence of the existence of an equilibrium-like chemical potential, which governs the coarse-grained density fluctuations in the Vicsek-like models. Moreover, comparison of the particle-number fluctuations among several self-propelled particle systems suggests a common mechanism through which the number fluctuations arise in such systems.
Using an additivity property, we study particle-number fluctuations in a system of interacting self-propelled particles, called active Brownian particles (ABPs), which consists of repulsive disks with random self-propulsion velocities. From a fluctuation-response relation - a direct consequence of additivity, we formulate a thermodynamic theory which captures the previously observed features of nonequilibrium phase transition in the ABPs from a homogeneous fluid phase to an inhomogeneous phase of coexisting gas and liquid. We substantiate the predictions of additivity by analytically calculating the subsystem particle-number distributions in the homogeneous fluid phase away from criticality where analytically obtained distributions are compatible with simulations in the ABPs.
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.
We derive hydrodynamics of a prototypical one dimensional model, having variable-range hopping, which mimics passive diffusion and ballistic motion of active, or self-propelled, particles. The model has two main ingredients - the hardcore interaction and the competing mechanisms of short and long range hopping. We calculate two density-dependent transport coefficients - the bulk-diffusion coefficient and the conductivity, the ratio of which, despite violation of detailed balance, is connected to number fluctuation by an Einstein relation. In the limit of infinite range hopping, the model exhibits, upon tuning density $rho$ (or activity), a superfluid transition from a finitely conducting state to an infinitely conducting one, characterized by a divergence in conductivity $chi(rho) sim (rho-rho_c)^{-1}$ with $rho_c$ being the critical density. The diverging conductivity greatly increases particle (or vacancy) mobility and induces giant number fluctuations in the system.
We study the behaviour of interacting self-propelled particles, whose self-propulsion speed decreases with their local density. By combining direct simulations of the microscopic model with an analysis of the hydrodynamic equations obtained by explicitly coarse graining the model, we show that interactions lead generically to the formation of a host of patterns, including moving clumps, active lanes and asters. This general mechanism could explain many of the patterns seen in recent experiments and simulations.
Recently, an Enskog-type kinetic theory for Vicsek-type models for self-propelled particles has been proposed [T. Ihle, Phys. Rev. E 83, 030901 (2011)]. This theory is based on an exact equation for a Markov chain in phase space and is not limited to small density. Previously, the hydrodynamic equations were derived from this theory and its transport coefficients were given in terms of infinite series. Here, I show that the transport coefficients take a simple form in the large density limit. This allows me to analytically evaluate the well-known density instability of the polarly ordered phase near the flocking threshold at moderate and large densities. The growth rate of a longitudinal perturbation is calculated and several scaling regimes, including three different power laws, are identified. It is shown that at large densities, the restabilization of the ordered phase at smaller noise is analytically accessible within the range of validity of the hydrodynamic theory. Analytical predictions for the width of the unstable band, the maximum growth rate and for the wave number below which the instability occurs are given. In particular, the system size below which spatial perturbations of the homogeneous ordered state are stable is predicted to scale with $sqrt{M}$ where $M$ is the average number of collision partners. The typical time scale until the instability becomes visible is calculated and is proportional to M.