Collective motion in large deviations of active particles

in Physical Review. E. (2021)

We analyze collective motion that occurs during rare (large deviation) events in systems of active particles, both numerically and analytically. We discuss the associated dynamical phase transition to ... [more ▼]

We analyze collective motion that occurs during rare (large deviation) events in systems of active particles, both numerically and analytically. We discuss the associated dynamical phase transition to collective motion, which occurs when the active work is biased towards larger values, and is associated with alignment of particles’ orientations. A finite biasing field is needed to induce spontaneous symmetry breaking, even in large systems. Particle alignment is computed exactly for a system of two particles. For many-particle systems, we analyze the symmetry breaking by an optimal-control representation of the biased dynamics, and we propose a fluctuating hydrodynamic theory that captures the emergence of polar order in the biased state. [less ▲]

Chemical cloaking

in Physical Review. E. (2020), 101(6), 060102

Derivation of an exact, nonequilibrium framework for nucleation: Nucleation is a priori neither diffusive nor Markovian

in Physical Review. E. (2019), 100(5), 052140

We discuss the structure of the equation of motion that governs nucleation processes at first order phase transitions. From the underlying microscopic dynamics of a nucleating system, we derive by means ... [more ▼]

We discuss the structure of the equation of motion that governs nucleation processes at first order phase transitions. From the underlying microscopic dynamics of a nucleating system, we derive by means of a nonequilibrium projection operator formalism the equation of motion for the size distribution of the nuclei. The equation is exact, ie, the derivation does not contain approximations. To assess the impact of memory, we express the equation of motion in a form that allows for direct comparison to the Markovian limit. As a numerical test, we have simulated crystal nucleation from a supersaturated melt of particles interacting via a Lennard-Jones potential. The simulation data show effects of non-Markovian dynamics. [less ▲]

Simulation study of the electrical tunneling network conductivity of suspensions of hard spherocylinders

in Physical Review. E. (2018), 98

Using Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate the electrical conductivity of networks of hard rods with aspect ratios 10 and 20 as a function of the volume fraction for two tunneling conductance models ... [more ▼]

Using Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate the electrical conductivity of networks of hard rods with aspect ratios 10 and 20 as a function of the volume fraction for two tunneling conductance models. For a simple, orientationally independent tunneling model, we observe nonmonotonic behavior of the bulk conductivity as a function of volume fraction at the isotropic-nematic transition. However, this effect is lost if one allows for anisotropic tunneling. The relative conductivity enhancement increases exponentially with volume fraction in the nematic phase. Moreover, we observe that the orientational ordering of the rods in the nematic phase induces an anisotropy in the conductivity, i.e., enhanced values in the direction of the nematic director field. We also compute the mesh number of the Kirchhoff network, which turns out to be a simple alternative to the computationally expensive conductivity of large systems in order to get a qualitative estimate. [less ▲]