arXiv subjects

Lorenzo Caprini

Publications and source records attributed to Lorenzo Caprini.

72 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Inertial self-propelled particles

We study a self-propelled particle moving in a solvent with the active Ornstein Uhlenbeck dynamics in the underdamped regime to evaluate the influence of the inertia. We focus on the properties of potential-free and harmonically confined underdamped active particles, studying how the single-particle trajectories modify for different values of the drag coefficient. In both cases, we solve the dynamics in terms of correlation matrices and steady-state probability distribution functions revealing the explicit correlations between velocity and active force. We also evaluate the influence of the inertia on the time-dependent properties of the system, discussing the mean square displacement and the time-correlations of particle positions and velocities. Particular attention is devoted to the study of the Virial active pressure unveiling the role of the inertia on this observable.

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arXiv2020

Active Matter at high density: velocity distribution and kinetic temperature

We consider the solid or hexatic non-equilibrium phases of an interacting two-dimensional system of Active Brownian Particles at high density and investigate numerically and theoretically the properties of the velocity distribution function and the associated kinetic temperature. We obtain approximate analytical predictions for the shape of the velocity distribution and find a transition from a Mexican-hat-like to a Gaussian-like distribution as the persistence time of the active force changes from the small to the large persistence regime. Through a detailed numerical and theoretical analysis of the single-particle velocity variance, we report an exact analytical expression for the kinetic temperature of dense spherical self-propelled particles that holds also in the non-equilibrium regimes with large persistence times and discuss its range of validity.

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arXiv2020

Time-dependent properties of interacting active matter: dynamical behavior of one-dimensional systems of self-propelled particles

We study an interacting high-density one-dimensional system of self-propelled particles described by the Active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck particle (AOUP) model where, even in the absence of alignment interactions, velocity and energy domains spontaneously form in analogy with those already observed in two dimensions. Such domains are regions where the individual velocities are spatially correlated as a result of the interplay between self-propulsion and interactions. Their typical size is controlled by a characteristic correlation length. In the present work, we focus on a novel and lesser-known aspect of the model, namely its dynamical behavior. To this purpose, we investigate theoretically and numerically the time-dependent velocity autocorrelation and spatio-temporal velocity correlation functions. The study of these correlations provides a measure of the average life-time and, thus, the stability in time of the velocity domains.

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arXiv2020

Hidden velocity ordering in dense suspensions of self-propelled disks

Recent studies of the phase diagram for spherical, purely repulsive, active particles established the existence of a transition from a liquid-like to a solid-like phase analogous to the one observed in colloidal systems at thermal equilibrium, in particular in two dimensions an intermediate hexatic phase is observed. Here, we present evidence that the active dense phases (solid, hexatic and liquid) exhibit interesting dynamical anomalies. First, we unveil the growth - with density and activity - of ordered domains where the particles' velocities align in parallel or vortex-like patches. Second, when activity is strong, the spatial distribution of kinetic energy becomes heterogeneous with high energy regions correlated to defects of the crystalline structure. This spatial heterogeneity is accompanied by temporal intermittency, with sudden peaks in the time-series of kinetic energy. The observed dynamical anomalies are not present in a dense equilibrium system and cannot be detected by considering only the structural properties of the system.

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arXiv2020

Diffusion properties of self-propelled particles in cellular flows

We study the dynamics of a self-propelled particle advected by a steady laminar flow. The persistent motion of the self-propelled particle is described by an active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. We focus on the diffusivity properties of the particle as a function of persistence time and free-diffusion coefficient, revealing non-monotonic behaviors, with the occurrence of a minimum and steep growth in the regime of large persistence time. In the latter limit, we obtain an analytical prediction for the scaling of the diffusion coefficient with the parameters of the active force. Our study sheds light on the effect of an inhomogeneous environment on the diffusion of active particles, such as living microorganisms and motile phytoplankton in fluids.

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arXiv2020

How a local active force modifies the structural properties of polymers

We study the dynamics of a polymer, described as a variant of a Rouse chain, driven by an active terminal monomer (head). The local active force induces a transition from a globule-like to an elongated state, as revealed by the study of the end-to-end distance, whose variance is analytically predicted under suitable approximations. The change in the relaxation times of the Rouse-modes produced by the local self-propulsion is consistent with the transition from globule to elongated conformations. Moreover also the bond-bond spatial correlation for the chain head results to be affected and a gradient of over-stretched bonds along the chain is observed. We compare our numerical results both with the phenomenological stiff-polymer theory and several analytical predictions in the Rouse-chain approximation.

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arXiv2019

Spontaneous velocity alignment in Motility-induced Phase Separation

We study a system of purely repulsive spherical self-propelled particles in the minimal set-up inducing Motility-Induced Phase Separation (MIPS). We show that, even if explicit alignment interactions are absent, a growing order in the velocities of the clustered particles accompanies MIPS. Particles arrange into aligned or vortex-like domains. Their sizes increase as the persistence of the self-propulsion grows, an effect that is quantified studying the spatial correlation function of the velocities. We explain the velocity-alignment by unveiling a hidden alignment interaction of the Vicsek-like form, induced by the interplay between steric interactions and self-propulsion. As a consequence, we argue that the MIPS transition cannot be fully understood in terms of a scalar field, the density, since the collective orientation of the velocities should be included in effective coarse-grained descriptions.

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arXiv2019

A comparative study between two models of active cluster-crystals

We study a system of active particles with soft repulsive interactions that lead to an active cluster-crystal phase in two dimensions. We use two different modelizations of the active force - Active Brownian particles (ABP) and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck particles (AOUP) - and focus on analogies and differences between them. We study the different phases appearing in the system, in particular, the formation of ordered patterns drifting in space without being altered. We develop an effective description which captures some properties of the stable clusters for both ABP and AOUP. As an additional point, we confine such a system in a large channel, in order to study the interplay between the cluster crystal phase and the well-known accumulation near the walls, a phenomenology typical of active particles. For small activities, we find clusters attached to the walls and deformed, while for large values of the active force they collapse in stripes parallel to the walls.

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arXiv2019

Irreversibility and typicality: A simple analytical result for the Ehrenfest model

With the aid of simple analytical computations for the Ehrenfest model, we clarify some basic features of macroscopic irreversibility. The stochastic character of the model allows us to give a non-ambiguous interpretation of the general idea that irreversibility is a typical property: for the vast majority of the realizations of the stochastic process, a single trajectory of a macroscopic observable behaves irreversibly, remaining "very close" to the deterministic evolution of its ensemble average, which can be computed using probability theory. The validity of the above scenario is checked through simple numerical simulations and a rigorous proof of the typicality is provided in the thermodynamic limit.

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arXiv2019

Transport of active particles in an open-wedge channel

The transport of independent active Brownian particles within a two-dimensional narrow channel, modeled as an open-wedge, is studied both numerically and theoretically. We show that the active force tends to localize the particles near the walls thus reducing the effect of the entropic force which, instead, is prevailing in the case of passive particles. As a consequence, the exit of active particles from the smaller side of the channel is facilitated with respect to their passive counterpart. By continuously re-injecting particles in the middle of the wedge, we obtain a steady regime whose properties are investigated with and without the presence of an external constant driving field. We characterize the statistics and properties of the exit process from the two opposite sides of the channel, also by making a comparison between the active and passive case. Our study reveals the existence of an optimal value of the persistence time of the active force which is able to guarantee the maximal efficiency in the transport process.

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arXiv2019

The Entropy Production of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck Active Particles: a path integral method for correlations

By employing a path integral formulation, we obtain the entropy production rate for a system of active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck particles (AOUP) both in the presence and in the absence of thermal noise. The present treatment clarifies some contraddictions concerning the definition of the entropy production rate in the AOUP model, recently appeared in the literature. We derive explicit formulas for three different cases: overdamped Brownian particle, AOUP with and without thermal noise. In addition, we show that it is not necessary to introduce additional hypotheses concerning the parity of auxiliary variables under time reversal transformation. Our results agree with those based on a previous mesoscopic approach.

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arXiv2018

Active escape dynamics: the effect of persistence on barrier crossing

We study a system of non-interacting active particles, propelled by colored noises, characterized by an activity time $τ$, and confined by a double-well potential. A straightforward application of this system is the problem of barrier crossing of active particles, which has been studied only in the limit of small activity. When $τ$ is sufficiently large, equilibrium-like approximations break down in the barrier crossing region. In the model under investigation, it emerges a sort of "negative temperature" region, and numerical simulations confirm the presence of non-convex local velocity distributions. We propose, in the limit of large $τ$, approximate equations for the typical trajectories which successfully predict many aspects of the numerical results. The local breakdown of detailed balance and its relation with a recent definition of non-equilibrium heat exchange is also discussed.

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arXiv2018

Active chiral particles under confinement: surface currents and bulk accumulation phenomena

In this work, we study the stationary behavior of an assembly of independent chiral active particles under confinement by employing an extension of the active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model. The chirality modeled by means of an effective torque term leads to a drastic reduction of the accumulation near the walls with respect to the case without handedness and to the appearance of currents parallel to the container walls accompanied by a large accumulation of particles in the inner region. In the case of two-dimensional chiral particles confined by harmonic walls, we determine the analytic form of the distribution of positions and velocities in two different situations: a rotationally invariant confining potential and an infinite channel with parabolic walls. Both these models display currents and chirality induced inner accumulation. These phenomena are further investigated by means of a more realistic description of a channel, where the wall and bulk regions are clearly separated. The corresponding current and density profiles are obtained by numerical simulations. At variance with the harmonic models, the third model shows a progressive emptying of the wall regions and the simultaneous enhancement of the bulk population. We explain such a phenomenology in terms of the combined effect of wall repulsive forces and chiral motion and provide a semiquantitative description of the current profile in terms of an effective viscosity of the chiral gas.

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arXiv2018

Active particles under confinement and effective force generation among surfaces

We consider the effect of geometric confinement on the steady-state properties of a one-dimensional active suspension subject to thermal noise. The random active force is modeled by an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process and the system is studied both numerically, by integrating the Langevin governing equations, and analytically by solving the associated Fokker-Planck equation under suitable approximations. The comparison between the two approaches displays a fairly good agreement and in particular, we show that the Fokker-Planck approach can predict the structure of the system both in the wall region and in the bulk-like region where the surface forces are negligible. The simultaneous presence of thermal noise and active forces determines the formation of a layer, extending from the walls towards the bulk, where the system exhibits polar order. We relate the presence of such ordering to the mechanical pressure exerted on the container's walls and show how it depends on the separation of the boundaries and determines a Casimir-like attractive force mediated by the active suspension.

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arXiv2018

Cluster crystals for Brownian particles with combined soft and hard-core repulsive interactions

Particle systems interacting with a soft repulsion, at thermal equilibrium and under some circumstances, are known to form cluster crystals, i.e. periodic arrangements of particle aggregates. We study here how these states are modified by the presence of an additional hard-core repulsion, accounting for particle size. To this end we consider a two-dimensional system of Brownian particles interacting through a potential which includes a hard-core and a soft-core (of the GEM-α type) repulsive terms. The system shows different phases, and we focus in the regime where cluster crystals form. We consider two situations: the low-temperature one in which particles inside the clusters also show an ordered structure (crystal cluster-crystal phase), and the one occurring at higher temperature in which particles within the clusters are spatially disordered (fluid cluster crystal). An explicit expression for the energy in terms of the typical distance among clusters and the typical distance of the particles within the clusters is obtained for vanishing temperature, which helps to understand the balance between the different forces involved. Finite-temperature corrections are also discussed.

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arXiv2018

Activity induced delocalization and freezing in self-propelled systems

We study a system of interacting active particles, propelled by colored noises, characterized by an activity time τ, and confined by a single-well anharmonic potential. We assume pair-wise repulsive forces among particles, modelling the steric interactions among microswimmers. This system has been experimentally studied in the case of a dilute suspension of Janus particles confined through acoustic traps. We observe that already in the dilute regime - when inter-particle interactions are negligible - increasing the persistent time pushes the particles away from the potential minimum, until a saturation distance is reached. We compute the phase diagram (activity versus interaction length), showing that the interaction does not suppress this delocalization phenomenon but induces a liquid- or solid-like structure in the densest regions. Interestingly a reentrant behavior is observed: a first increase of τ from small values acts as an effective warming, favouring fluidization; at higher values, when the delocalization occurs, a further increase of τ induces freezing inside the densest regions. An approximate analytical scheme gives fair predictions for the density profiles in the weakly interacting case. The analysis of non-equilibrium heat fluxes reveals that in the region of largest particle concentration equilibrium is restored in several aspects.

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arXiv2018

Linear response and correlation of a self-propelled particle in the presence of external fields

We study the non-equilibrium properties of non interacting active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck particles (AOUP) subject to an external nonuniform field using a Fokker-Planck approach with a focus on the linear response and time-correlation functions. In particular, we compare different methods to compute these functions including the unified colored noise approximation (UCNA). The AOUP model, described by the position of the particle and the active force acting on it, is usually mapped into a Markovian process, describing the motion of a fictitious passive particle in terms of its position and velocity, where the effect of the activity is transferred into a position-dependent friction. We show that the form of the response function of the AOUP depends on whether we put the perturbation on the position and keep unperturbed the active force in the original variables or perturb the position and maintain unperturbed the velocity in the transformed variables. Indeed, as a result of the change of variables the perturbation on the position becomes a perturbation both on the position and on the fictitious velocity. We test these predictions by considering the response for three types of convex potentials: quadratic, quartic and double-well potential. Moreover, by comparing the response of the AOUP model with the corresponding response of the UCNA model we conclude that although the stationary properties are fairly well approximated by the UCNA, the non equilibrium properties are not, an effect which is not negligible when the persistence time is large.

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arXiv2017

Fourier's Law in a Generalized Piston Model

A simplified, but non trivial, mechanical model -- gas of $N$ particles of mass $m$ in a box partitioned by $n$ mobile adiabatic walls of mass $M$ -- interacting with two thermal baths at different temperatures, is discussed in the framework of kinetic theory. Following an approach due to Smoluchowski, from an analysis of the collisions particles/walls, we derive the values of the main thermodynamic quantities for the stationary non-equilibrium states. The results are compared with extensive numerical simulations; in the limit of large $n$, $mN/M\gg 1$ and $m/M \ll 1$, we find a good approximation of Fourier's law.

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