Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 5, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5351
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Funding
- EPSRC [EP/J007404]
- German Research Foundation (DFG) [WI 4170/1-1]
- Swedish Research Council [350-2012-274]
- Royal Society University Research Fellowship
- Royal Society Research Professorship
- EPSRC [EP/J007404/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/J007404/1] Funding Source: researchfish
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Recent theories predict phase separation among orientationally disordered active particles whose propulsion speed decreases rapidly enough with density. Coarse-grained models of this process show time-reversal symmetry (detailed balance) to be restored for uniform states, but broken by gradient terms; hence, detailed-balance violation is strongly coupled to interfacial phenomena. To explore the subtle generic physics resulting from such coupling, we here introduce 'Active Model B'. This is a scalar phi(4) field theory (or phase-field model) that minimally violates detailed balance via a leading-order square-gradient term. We find that this additional term has modest effects on coarsening dynamics, but alters the static phase diagram by creating a jump in (thermodynamic) pressure across flat interfaces. Both results are surprising, since interfacial phenomena are always strongly implicated in coarsening dynamics but are, in detailed-balance systems, irrelevant for phase equilibria.
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