arXiv subjects

Pritha Dolai

Publications and source records attributed to Pritha Dolai.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Shape Evolution and Dynamics of Deformable Ring

We numerically investigate the dynamics of a deformable closed ring filled with active particles. The ring is modeled as a flexible boundary made up of passive beads interacting with a harmonic spring force. The interior of the ring is filled with active Brownian particles (ABPs), and their activity is controlled through the rotational diffusion coefficient. We explore how, by systematically varying the activity of ABPs, packing fraction, and size of the ring, we can control the shape deformation and dynamics of the ring. At low packing fractions, low rotational diffusion coefficients, and smaller ring sizes, the ring exhibits highly irregular and strongly deformed shapes due to the uneven spatial arrangement of active particles along the boundary. Increasing the packing fraction, rotational diffusion coefficient, or ring size promotes a more even distribution of active particles within the ring, thereby suppressing shape deformations and fluctuations, driving the ring toward a more circular shape. We further analyze the mean-squared displacement (MSD) of the ring's center of mass and observe a crossover from ballistic to diffusive dynamics, which can be tuned by varying the system parameters. Our results demonstrate that, despite its internal complexity and deformability, the ring exhibits emergent behavior analogous to that of a single effective active particle. This study provides insight into the collective effects of confined active matter and the resulting macroscopic dynamics of deformable systems.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Boundary layers, transport and universal distribution in boundary driven active systems

We discuss analytical results for a run-and-tumble particle (RTP) in one dimension in presence of boundary reservoirs. It exhibits `kinetic boundary layers', nonmonotonous distribution, current without density gradient, diffusion facilitated current reversal and optimisation on tuning dynamical parameters, and a new transport effect in the steady state. The spatial and internal degrees of freedom together possess a symmetry, using which we find the eigenspectrum for large systems. The eigenvalues are arranged in two bands which can mix in certain conditions resulting in a crossover in the relaxation. The late time distribution for large systems is obtained analytically; it retains a strong and often dominant `active' contribution in the bulk rendering an effective passive-like description inadequate. A nontrivial `Milne length' also emerges in the dynamics. Finally, a novel universality is proposed in the absorbing boundary problem for dynamics with short-range colored noise. Active processes driven by active reservoirs may thus provide a common physical ground for diverse and new nonequilibrium phenomena.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

Shape-dependent motility of polar inclusions in active baths

Collections of persistently moving active particles are an example of a nonequilibrium heat bath. One way to study the nature of nonequilibrium fluctuations in such systems is to follow the dynamics of an embedded probe particle. With this aim, we study the dynamics of an anisotropic inclusion embedded in a bath of active particles. By studying various statistical correlation functions of the dynamics, we show that the emergent motility of this inclusion depends on its shape as well as the properties of the active bath. We demonstrate that both the decorrelation time of the net force on the inclusion and the dwell time of bath particles in a geometrical trap on the inclusion have a non-monotonic dependence on its shape. We also find that the motility of the inclusion is optimal when the volume fraction of the active bath is close to the value for the onset of motility induced phase separation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

Specific heat of a driven lattice gas

Calorimetry for equilibrium systems aims to determine the available microscopic occupation and distribution of energy levels by measuring thermal response. Nonequilibrium versions are expected to add information on the dynamical accessibility of those states. We perform calculations on a driven exclusion process on an array of particle stations, confirming that expectation. That Markov model produces a fermionic nonequilibrium steady state where the specific heat is computed exactly by evaluating the heat fluxes that are entirely due to a change in ambient temperature. We observe a zero-temperature divergence (violation of the Third Law) when the Fermi energy and the kinetic barrier for loading and emptying become approximately equal. Finally, when the kinetic barrier is density-dependent, a stable low-temperature regime of negative specific heat appears, indicating an anti-correlation between the temperature--dependence of the stationary occupation and the excess heat.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2022

Calorimetry for active systems

We provide the theoretical basis of calorimetry for a class of active particles subject to thermal noise. Simulating AC-calorimetry, we numerically evaluate the heat capacity of run-and-tumble particles in double-well and in periodic potentials, and of systems with a flashing potential. Low-temperature Schottky-like peaks show the role of activity and indicate shape transitions, while regimes of negative heat capacity appear at higher propulsion speeds. From there, a significant increase in heat capacities of active systems may be inferred at low temperatures, as well as the possibility of diagnostic tools for the activity of self-motile artificial or biomimetic systems based on heat capacity measurements.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2022

Inducing a bound state between active particles

We show that two active particles can form a bound state by coupling to a driven nonequilibrium environment. We specifically investigate the case of two mutually noninteracting run-and-tumble probes moving on a ring, each in short-range interaction with driven colloids. Under conditions of time-scale separation, these active probes become trapped in bound states. In fact, the bound state appears at high enough persistence (low effective temperature). From the perspective of a co-moving frame, where colloids are in thermal equilibrium and the probes are active and driven, an appealing analogy appears with Cooper pairing, as electrons can be viewed as run-and-tumble particles in a pilot-wave picture.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

Harnessing confinement and driving to tune active particle dynamics

A distinguishing feature of active particles is the nature of the non-equilibrium noise driving their dynamics. Control of these noise properties is, therefore, of both fundamental and applied interest. We demonstrate emergent tuning of the active noise of a granular self-propelled particle by confining it to a quasi one-dimensional channel. We find that this particle, moving like an active Brownian particle (ABP) in two-dimensions, displays run-and-tumble (RTP) characteristics in confinement. We show that the dynamics of the relative orientation co-ordinate of the particle maps to that of a Brownian particle in a periodic potential subject to a constant force, in analogy to the dynamics of a molecular motor. This mapping captures the essential statistical characteristics of the one-dimensional RTP motion. Specifically, our theoretical analysis is in agreement with the empirical distributions of the relative orientation co-ordinate and the run-times (tumble-rates) of the particle. Finally, we explicitly control these emergent run-and-tumble like noise parameters by external driving. Altogether, our work illustrates geometry-induced tuning of the active dynamics of self-propelled units thus suggesting an independent route to harness their internal dynamics.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality in two-component driven diffusive models: Symmetry and renormalization group perspectives

We elucidate the universal spatio-temporal scaling properties of the time-dependent correlation functions in a class of two-component one-dimensional (1D) driven diffusive system that consists of two coupled asymmetric exclusion process. By using a perturbative renormalization group framework, we show that the relevant scaling exponents have values same as those for the 1D Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation. We connect these universal scaling exponents with the symmetries of the model equations. We thus establish that these models belong to the 1D KPZ universality class.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Universal scaling in active single-file dynamics

We study the single-file dynamics of three classes of active particles: run-and-tumble particles, active Brownian particles and active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck particles. At high activity values, the particles, interacting via purely repulsive and short-ranged forces, aggregate into several motile and dynamical clusters of comparable size, and do not display bulk phase-segregation. In this dynamical steady-state, we find that the cluster size distribution of these aggregates is a scaled function of the density and activity parameters across the three models of active particles with the same scaling function. The velocity distribution of these motile clusters is non-Gaussian. We show that the effective dynamics of these clusters can explain the observed emergent scaling of the mean-squared displacement of tagged particles for all the three models with identical scaling exponents and functions. Concomitant with the clustering seen at high activities, we observe that the static density correlation function displays rich structures, including multiple peaks that are reminiscent of particle clustering induced by effective attractive interactions, while the dynamical variant shows non-diffusive scaling. Our study reveals a universal scaling behavior in the single-file dynamics of interacting active particles.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Phase separation in binary mixtures of active and passive particles

We study binary mixtures of small active and big passive athermal particles interacting via soft repulsive forces on a frictional substrate. Athermal self propelled particles are known to phase separate into a dense aggregate and a dilute gas-like phase at fairly low packing fractions. Known as {\emph {motility induced phase separation}}, this phenomenon governs the behaviour of binary mixtures for small to intermediate size ratios of the particle species. An effective attraction between passive particles, due to the surrounding active medium, leads to true phase separation for large size ratios and volume fractions of active particles. The effective interaction between active and passive particles can be attractive or repulsive at short range depending on the size ratio and volume fractions of the particles. This affects the clustering of passive particles. We find three distinct phases based on the spatial distribution of passive particles. The cluster size distribution of passive particles decays exponentially in the {\emph{homogeneous phase}}. It decays as a power law with an exponential cutoff in the {\emph{clustered phase}} and tends to a power law as the system approaches the transition to the {\emph{phase separated state}}. We present a phase diagram in the plane defined by the size ratio and volume fraction of passive particles.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2017

Universal spatio-temporal scaling of distortions in a drifting lattice

We study the dynamical response to small distortions of a lattice about its uniform state, drifting through a dissipative medium due to an external force, and show, analytically and numerically, that the fluctuations, both transverse and longitudinal to the direction of the drift, exhibit spatiotemporal scaling belonging to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class. Further, we predict that a colloidal crystal drifting in a constant electric field is linearly stable against distortions and the distortions propagate as underdamped waves.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2016

Large deviation statistics of non-equilibrium fluctuations in a sheared model-fluid

We analyse the statistics of the shear stress in a one dimensional \emph{model fluid}, that exhibits a rich phase behaviour akin to real complex fluids under shear. We show that the energy flux satisfies the Gallavotti-Cohen FT across all phases in the system. The theorem allows us to define an effective temperature which deviates considerably from the equilibrium temperature as the noise in the system increases. This deviation is negligible when the system size is small. The dependence of the effective temperature on the strain rate is phase-dependent. It doesn't vary much at the phase boundaries. The effective temperature can also be determined from the large deviation function of the energy flux. The local strain rate statistics obeys the large deviation principle and satisfies a fluctuation relation. It does not exhibit a distinct kink near zero strain rate because of inertia of the rotors in our system.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗