Continuum theory of phase separation kinetics for active Brownian particles

Active Brownian particles (ABPs), when subject to purely repulsive interactions, are known to undergo activity-induced phase separation broadly resembling an equilibrium (attraction-induced) gas-liquid coexistence. Here we present an accurate continuum theory for the dynamics of phase-separating ABP...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 111; no. 14; p. 145702
Main Authors Stenhammar, Joakim, Tiribocchi, Adriano, Allen, Rosalind J, Marenduzzo, Davide, Cates, Michael E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 02.10.2013
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Summary:Active Brownian particles (ABPs), when subject to purely repulsive interactions, are known to undergo activity-induced phase separation broadly resembling an equilibrium (attraction-induced) gas-liquid coexistence. Here we present an accurate continuum theory for the dynamics of phase-separating ABPs, derived by direct coarse graining, capturing leading-order density gradient terms alongside an effective bulk free energy. Such gradient terms do not obey detailed balance; yet we find coarsening dynamics closely resembling that of equilibrium phase separation. Our continuum theory is numerically compared to large-scale direct simulations of ABPs and accurately accounts for domain growth kinetics, domain topologies, and coexistence densities.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.111.145702