Minimal model of active colloids highlights the role of mechanical interactions in controlling the emergent behavior of active matter

2015/10/31 by M. Cristina Marchetti, Yaouen Fily, Silke Henkes +2 · 2 citations
Chemistry · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Active matter #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Biology #Brownian motion #Chemical physics #Chemistry #Colloid #Flocking (texture) #Materials science #Mechanics #Micro and Nano Robotics #Nanotechnology #Phase (matter) #Phase diagram #Physical chemistry #Physics #Pickering emulsions and particle stabilization #Soft matter #Statistical physics #cond-mat.soft

paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.cocis.2016.01.003

published as Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science 21 (2016), 34-43 · 12 pages; version accepted in Current Opinions on Colloid & Interface Science

openalex publication_date 2016/02/01 · arxiv created 2016/02/11 · arxiv updated 2016/04/12 · openalex created_date 2020/11/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

Minimal models of active Brownian colloids consisting of self-propelled spherical particles with purely repulsive interactions have recently been identified as excellent quantitative testing grounds for theories of active matter and have been the subject of extensive numerical and analytical investigation. These systems do not exhibit aligned or flocking states, but do have a rich phase diagram, forming active gases, liquids and solids with novel mechanical properties. This article reviews recent advances in the understanding of such models, including the description of the active gas and its swim pressure, the motility-induced phase separation and the high-density crystalline and glassy behavior.

Citations

• Pressure and Phase Equilibria in Interacting Active Brownian Spheres
• Athermal Phase Separation of Self-Propelled Particles with No Alignment
• Statistical Mechanics of Interacting Run-and-Tumble Bacteria
• Effective interactions in active Brownian suspensions
• Microscopic theory for the phase separation of self-propelled repulsive disks
• Active nematics on a substrate: Giant number fluctuations and long-time tails
• Dynamics of self-propelled particles under strong confinement
• Hydrodynamic Fluctuations and Instabilities in Ordered Suspensions of Self-Propelled Particles
• Vibrations and Diverging Length Scales Near the Unjamming Transition
• Scalar φ4 field theory for active-particle phase separation
• Continuum Theory of Phase Separation Kinetics for Active Brownian Particles
• E. coli in Motion

Cited by

• Classical Nucleation Theory Description of Active Colloid Assembly
• Generalized Archimedes' principle in active fluids