Padmanabha Bose | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Study of flow of crystals and deformable particles in a channel and the effective segregation of soft and hard particles

Soft matters whose constituents are deformable are ubiquitous in nature especially in biological systems-including cells and their organelles-as well as in foams and emulsions. The capacity for deformation in these soft materials gives rise to a range of intriguing phenomena, such as glassy behavior without any size dispersity, cluster crystal formation, and re-entrant melting. Deformability also plays a crucial role in facilitating essential biological processes, such as the flow of blood through veins and arteries. In this work, we investigate assemblies of two-dimensional (2D) polymeric, non-overlapping rings, which mimic deformable particulates in 2D using extensive molecular dynamics simulations. The rings are confined in a rectangular channel with hard walls perpendicular to the flow direction, mimicking natural flow conditions. We analyze the flow properties of these deformable particle assemblies at two different stiffness values. To further asses the impact of deformability, we examine the same monodisperse system at higher densities for the stiffer rings, where deformation is necessary and a fluid layer emerges at the channel edges. Finally, we explore a mixture of rings with two distinct stiffnesses and observe effective segregation of soft and hard particles at small channel widths.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Understanding the Role of Particle Deformability on the Crystal and Glass formation using Two-dimensional Ring Polymer Model

Soft matter systems are common in nature and make up nearly all the essential components necessary for life, from cells to the organelles within those cells. The ability of these soft materials to deform is crucial for the proper functioning of various biological processes, such as blood flow in our veins and arteries. It is vital to understand how deformability influences the normal functioning of these processes. We have investigated an assembly of two-dimensional (2D) polymeric non-overlapping rings via extensive molecular dynamics simulations. The main idea is to study an assembly of model particles with anisotropic deformability using polymer rings. By tuning the degree of deformability of these model deformable particles, we study the dynamic and static properties of the assembly at different densities and temperatures. This deformable particle model might correspond to an assembly of epithelial cells or similar biologically soft bodies. In the limit at which the rings are very rigid with very little deformability, one expects to see the formation of a triangular lattice by the centres of these polymer rings. On the other hand, if one increases the deformability of these polymer rings, due to increased disorder, one observes glass-like dynamical behaviour even for identically sized polymer rings. We also show a transition from a crystalline state to a disordered glassy state driven solely by particle deformability. We observe non-trivial finite-size effects in the dynamics of these glass-forming ring polymers, not seen in usual molecular glass-formers.

cond-mat.soft↗