arXiv subjects

Roland G. Winkler

Publications and source records attributed to Roland G. Winkler.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Wall-anchored semiflexible polymer under large amplitude oscillatory shear flow

The properties of semiflexible polymers tethered by one end to an impenetrable wall and exposed to oscillatory shear flow are investigated by mesoscale simulations. A polymer, confined in two dimensions, is described by a linear bead-spring chain, and fluid interactions are incorporated by the Brownian multiparticle collision dynamics approach. At small strains, the polymers follow the applied flow field. However, at high strain, we find a strongly nonlinear response, with major conformational changes. Polymers are stretched along the flow direction and exhibit U-shaped conformations while following the flow. As a consequence of confinement in the half-space, a frequency doubling in the time-dependent polymer properties appears along the direction normal to the wall.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

Tethered Semiflexible Polymer under Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear

The properties of a semiflexible polymer with fixed ends exposed to oscillatory shear flow are investigated by simulations. The two-dimensionally confined polymer is modeled as a linear bead-spring chain, and the interaction with the fluid is described by the Brownian multiparticle collision dynamics approach. For small shear rates, the tethering of the ends leads to a more-or-less linear oscillatory response. However, at high shear rates, we found a strongly nonlinear reaction, with a polymer (partially) wrapped around the fixation points. This leads to an overall shrinkage of the polymer. Dynamically, the location probability of the polymer center-of-mass position is largest on a spatial curve resembling a limaçon, although with an inhomogeneous distribution. We found shear-induced modifications of the normal-mode correlation functions, with a frequency doubling at high shear rates. Interestingly, an even-odd asymmetry for the Cartesian components of the correlation functions appears, with rather similar spectra for odd $x$- and even $y$-modes and vice versa. Overall, our simulations yielded an intriguing nonlinear behavior of tethered semiflexible polymers under oscillatory shear flow.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

Hydrodynamics of Immiscible Binary Fluids with Viscosity Contrast: A multiparticle collision dynamics approach

We present a multiparticle collision dynamics (MPC) implementation of layered immiscible fluids $A$ and $B$ of different shear viscosities separated by planar interfaces. The simulated flow profile for imposed steady shear motion and the time-dependent shear stress functions are in excellent agreement with our continuum hydrodynamics results for the composite fluid. The wave-vector dependent transverse velocity auto-correlation functions (TVAF) in the bulk-fluid regions of the layers decay exponentially, and agree with those of single-phase isotropic MPC fluids. In addition, we determine the hydrodynamic mobilities of an embedded colloidal sphere moving steadily parallel or transverse to a fluid-fluid interface, as functions of the distance from the interface. The obtained mobilities are in good agreement with hydrodynamic force multipoles calculations, for a no-slip sphere moving under creeping flow conditions near a clean, ideally flat interface. The proposed MPC fluid-layer model can be straightforwardly implemented, and it is computationally very efficient. Yet, owing to the spatial discretization inherent to the MPC method, the model can not reproduce all hydrodynamic features of an ideally flat interface between immiscible fluids.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

Active turbulence in microswimmer suspensions -- the role of active hydrodynamic stress and volume exclusion

Microswimmers exhibit an intriguing, highly-dynamic collective motion with large-scale swirling and streaming patterns, denoted as active turbulence -- reminiscent of classical high-Reynolds-number hydrodynamic turbulence. Various experimental, numerical, and theoretical approaches have been applied to elucidate similarities and differences to inertial hydrodynamic and active turbulence. These studies reveal a wide spectrum of possible structural and dynamical behaviors of active mesoscale systems, not necessarily consistent with the predictions of the Kolmogorov-Kraichnan theory of turbulence. We use squirmers embedded in a mesoscale fluid, modeled by the multiparticle collision dynamics (MPC) approach, to explore the collective behavior of bacteria-type microswimmers. Our model includes the active hydrodynamic stress generated by propulsion, and a rotlet dipole characteristic for flagellated bacteria. We find emergent clusters, activity-induced phase separation, and swarming, depending on density, active stress, and the rotlet dipole strength. The analysis of the squirmer dynamics in the swarming phase yields Kolomogorov-Kraichnan-type hydrodynamic turbulence and energy spectra for sufficiently high concentrations and strong rotlet dipoles. This emphasizes the paramount importance of the hydrodynamic flow field for swarming and bacterial turbulence.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

Active Brownian filaments with hydrodynamic interactions: conformations and dynamics

The conformational and dynamical properties of active self-propelled filaments/polymers are investigated in the presence of hydrodynamic interactions by both, Brownian dynamics simulations and analytical theory. Numerically, a discrete linear chain composed of active Brownian particles is considered, analytically, a continuous linear semiflexible polymer with active velocities changing diffusively. The force-free nature of active monomers is accounted for - no Stokeslet fluid flow induced by active forces - and higher order hydrodynamic multipole moments are neglected. The nonequilibrium character of the active process implies a dependence of the stationary-state properties on HI via the polymer relaxation times. In particular, at moderate activities, HI lead to a substantial shrinkage of flexible and semiflexible polymers to an extent far beyond shrinkage of comparable free-draining polymers; even flexible HI-polymers shrink, while active free-draining polymers swell monotonically. Large activities imply a reswelling, however, to a less extent than for non-HI polymers, caused by the shorter polymer relaxation times due to hydrodynamic interactions. The polymer mean square displacement is enhanced, and an activity-determined ballistic regime appears. Over a wide range of time scales, flexible active polymers exhibit a hydrodynamically governed subdiffusive regime, with an exponent significantly smaller than that of the Rouse and Zimm models of passive polymers. Compared to simulations, the approximate analytical approach predicts a weaker hydrodynamic effect.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

Wall entrapment of peritrichous bacteria: A mesoscale hydrodynamics simulation study

Microswimmers such as E. Coli bacteria accumulate and exhibit an intriguing dynamics near walls, governed by hydrodynamic and steric interactions. Insight into the underlying mechanisms and predominant interactions demand a detailed characterization of the entrapment process. We employ a mesoscale hydrodynamics simulation approach to study entrapment of a E. coli-type cell at a no-slip wall. The cell is modeled by a spherocylindrical body with several explicit helical flagella. Three stages of the entrapment process can be distinguished: the approaching regime, where a cell swims toward the wall on a nearly straight trajectory; a scattering regime, where the cell touches the wall, with an reorientation; and a surface-swimming regime. Our simulations show that steric interactions may dominate the entrapment process, yet, hydrodynamic interactions slow down the adsorption dynamics close to the boundary and imply a circular motion on the wall. The locomotion of the cell is characterized by a strong wobbling dynamics, with cells preferentially pointing toward the wall.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

The physics of active polymers and filaments

Active matter agents consume internal energy or extract energy from the environment for locomotion and force generation. Already rather generic models, such as ensembles of active Brownian particles, exhibit phenomena, which are absent at equilibrium, in particular motility-induced phase separation and collective motion. Further intriguing nonequilibrium effects emerge in assemblies of bound active agents as in linear polymers or filaments. The interplay of activity and conformational degrees of freedom gives rise to novel structural and dynamical features of individual polymers as well as in interacting ensembles. Such out-of-equilibrium polymers are an integral part of living matter, ranging from biological cells with filaments propelled by motor proteins in the cytoskeleton, and RNA/DNA in the transcription process, to long swarming bacteria and worms such as Proteus mirabilis and Caenorhabditis elegans, respectively. Even artificial active polymers have been synthesized. The emergent properties of active polymers or filaments depend on the coupling of the active process to their conformational degrees of freedom, aspects which are addressed in this article. The theoretical models for tangentially and isotropically self-propelled or active-bath driven polymers are presented, both in presence and absence of hydrodynamic interactions. The consequences for their conformational and dynamical properties are examined, emphasizing the strong influence of the coupling between activity and hydrodynamic interactions. Particular features of emerging phenomena, induced by steric and hydrodynamic interactions, are highlighted. Various important, yet theoretically unexplored, aspects are featured and future challenges are discussed.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

Hydrodynamics of polymers in an active bath

The conformational and dynamical properties of active polymers in solution are determined by the nature of the activity, and the behavior of polymers with self-propelled, active Brownian particle-type monomers differs qualitatively from that of polymers with monomers driven externally by colored noise forces. We present simulation and theoretical results for polymers in solution in the presence of external active noise. In simulations, a semiflexible bead-spring chain is considered, in analytical calculations, a continuous linear wormlike chain. Activity is taken into account by independent monomer/site velocities, with orientations changing in a diffusive manner. In simulations, hydrodynamic interactions (HI) are taken into account by the Rotne-Prager-Yamakawa tensor, or by an implementation of the active polymer in the multiparticle collision dynamics approach for fluids. To arrive at an analytical solution, the preaveraged Oseen tensor is employed. The active process implies a dependence of the stationary-state properties on HI via polymer relaxation times. With increasing activity, HI lead to an enhanced swelling of flexible polymers, and the conformational properties differ substantially from those of polymers with self-propelled monomers in presence of HI or free-draining polymers. The polymer mean square displacement is enhanced by HI. Over a wide range of time scales, hydrodynamics leads to a subdiffusive regime of the site mean square displacement for flexible active polymers, with an exponent of (5/7), larger than that of the Rouse (1/2) and Zimm (2/3) models of passive polymers.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

Enhanced rotational motion of spherical squirmer in polymer solutions

The rotational diffusive motion of a self-propelled, attractive spherical colloid immersed in a solution of self-avoiding polymers is studied by mesoscale hydrodynamic simulations. A drastic enhancement of the rotational diffusion by more than an order of magnitude in the presence of activity is obtained. The amplification is a consequence of two effects, a decrease of the amount of adsorbed polymers by active motion and an asymmetric encounter with polymers on the squirmer surface, which yields an additional torque and random noise for the rotational motion. Our simulations suggest a way to control the rotational dynamics of squirmer-type microswimmers by the degree of polymer adsorption and system heterogeneity.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

Hydrodynamic correlations of viscoelastic fluids by multiparticle collision dynamics simulations

The emergent fluctuating hydrodynamics of a viscoelastic fluid modeled by the multiparticle collision dynamics (MPC) approach is studied. The fluid is composed of flexible, Gaussian phantom polymers, which interact by local momentum-conserving stochastic MPC collisions. For comparison, the analytical solution of the linearized Navier-Stokes equation is calculated, where viscoelasticity is taken into account by a time-dependent shear relaxation modulus. The fluid properties are characterized by the transverse velocity autocorrelation function in Fourier space as well as in real space. Various polymer lengths are considered---from dumbbells to (near-)continuous polymers. Viscoelasticity affects the fluid properties and leads to strong correlations, which overall decay exponentially in Fourier space. In real space, the center-of-mass velocity autocorrelation function of individual polymers exhibits a long-time tail independent of polymer length, which decays as $t^{-3/2}$, similar to a Newtonian fluid, in the asymptotic limit $t \to \infty$. Moreover, for long polymers an additional power-law decay appears at time scales shorter than the longest polymer relaxation time with the same time dependence, but negative correlations, and the polymer length dependence $L^{-1/2}$. Good agreement is found between the analytical and simulation results.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

The 2019 Motile Active Matter Roadmap

Activity and autonomous motion are fundamental in living and engineering systems. This has stimulated the new field of active matter in recent years, which focuses on the physical aspects of propulsion mechanisms, and on motility-induced emergent collective behavior of a larger number of identical agents. The scale of agents ranges from nanomotors and microswimmers, to cells, fish, birds, and people. Inspired by biological microswimmers, various designs of autonomous synthetic nano- and micromachines have been proposed. Such machines provide the basis for multifunctional, highly responsive, intelligent (artificial) active materials, which exhibit emergent behavior and the ability to perform tasks in response to external stimuli. A major challenge for understanding and designing active matter is their inherent nonequilibrium nature due to persistent energy consumption, which invalidates equilibrium concepts such as free energy, detailed balance, and time-reversal symmetry. Unraveling, predicting, and controlling the behavior of active matter is a truly interdisciplinary endeavor at the interface of biology, chemistry, ecology, engineering, mathematics, and physics. The vast complexity of phenomena and mechanisms involved in the self-organization and dynamics of motile active matter comprises a major challenge. Hence, to advance, and eventually reach a comprehensive understanding, this important research area requires a concerted, synergetic approach of the various disciplines.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

Local stress and pressure in an inhomogeneous system of spherical active Brownian particles

The stress of a fluid on a confining wall is given by the mechanical wall forces, independent of the nature of the fluid being passive or active. At thermal equilibrium, an equation of state exists and stress is likewise obtained from intrinsic bulk properties; even more, stress can be calculated locally. Comparable local descriptions for active systems require a particular consideration of active forces. Here, we derive expressions for the stress exerted on a local volume of a systems of spherical active Brownian particles (ABPs). Using the virial theorem, we obtain two identical stress expressions, a stress due to momentum flux across a hypothetical plane, and a bulk stress inside of the local volume. In the first case, we obtain an active contribution to momentum transport in analogy to momentum transport in an underdamped passive system, and we introduce an active momentum. In the second case, a generally valid expression for the swim stress is derived. By simulations, we demonstrate that the local bulk stress is identical to the wall stress of a confined system for both, non-interacting ABPs as well as ABPs with excluded-volume interactions. This underlines the existence of an equation of state for a system of spherical ABPs. Most importantly, our calculations demonstrated that active stress is not a wall (boundary) effect, but is caused by momentum transport. We demonstrate that the derived stress expression permits the calculation of the local stress in inhomogeneous systems of ABPs.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2018

Clustering of microswimmers: Interplay of shape and hydrodynamics

The spatiotemporal dynamics in systems of active self-propelled particles is controlled by the propulsion mechanism in combination with various direct interactions, such as steric repulsion, hydrodynamics, and chemical fields. Yet, these direct interactions are typically anisotropic, and come in different 'flavors', such as spherical and elongated particle shapes for steric repulsion, pusher and puller flow fields for hydrodynamics, etc. The combination of the various aspects is expected to lead to new emergent behavior. However, it is a priori not evident whether shape and hydrodynamics act synergistically or antagonistically to generate motility-induced clustering (MIC) and phase separation (MIPS). We employ a model of prolate spheroidal microswimmers - called squirmers - in quasi-two-dimensional confinement to address this issue by mesoscale hydrodynamic simulations. For comparison, non-hydrodynamic active Brownian particles (ABPs) are considered to elucidate the contribution of hydrodynamic interactions on MIC and MIPS. For spherical particles, the comparison between ABP and hydrodynamic-squirmer ensembles reveals a suppression of MIPS due to hydrodynamic interactions. The fundamental difference between ABPs and squirmers is attributed to an increased reorientation of squirmers by hydrodynamic torques during their collisions. In contrast, for elongated squirmers, hydrodynamics interactions enhance MIPS. Thus, hydrodynamic interactions show opposing effects on MIPS for spherical and elongated microswimmers.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2018

Steady state sedimentation of ultrasoft colloids

The structural and dynamical properties of ultra-soft colloids - star polymers - exposed to a uniform external force field are analyzed applying the multiparticle collision dynamics approach, a hybrid coarse-grain mesoscale simulation approach, which captures thermal fluctuations and long-range hydrodynamic interactions. In the weak field limit, the structure of the star polymer is nearly unchanged, however in an intermediate regime, the radius of gyration decreases, in particular transverse to the sedimentation direction. In the limit of a strong field, the radius of gyration increases with field strength. Correspondingly, the sedimentation coefficient increases with increasing field strength, passes through a maximum and decreases again at high field strengths. The maximum value depends on the functionality of the star polymer. High field strengths lead to symmetry breaking with trailing, strongly stretched polymer arms and a compact star polymer body. In the weak field linear response regime, the sedimentation coefficient follows the scaling relation of a star polymer in terms of functionality and arm length.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2018

Hydrodynamics of Binary Fluid Mixtures - An Augmented Multiparticle Collison Dynamics Approach

The Multiparticle Collision Dynamics technique (MPC) for hydrodynamics simulations is generalized to binary fluid mixtures and multiphase flows, by coupling the particle-based fluid dynamics to a Ginzburg-Landau free-energy functional for phase-separating binary fluids. To describe fluids with a non-ideal equation of state, an additional density-dependent term is introduced. The new approach is verified by applying it to thermodynamics near the critical demixing point, and interface fluctuations of droplets. The interfacial tension obtained from the analysis of the capillary wave spectrum agrees well with the results based on the Laplace-Young equation. Phase-separation dynamics follows the Lifshitz-Slyozov law.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2017

Spatial correlations of hydrodynamic fluctuations in simple fluids under shear flow: A mesoscale simulation study

Hydrodynamic fluctuations in simple fluids under shear flow are demonstrated to be spatially correlated, in contrast to the fluctuations at equilibrium, using mesoscopic hydrodynamic simulations. The simulation results for the equal-time hydrodynamic correlations in a multiparticle collision dynamics (MPC) fluid in shear flow are compared with the explicit expressions obtained from fluctuating hydrodynamic calculations. For large wave vectors $k$, the nonequlibrium contributions to transverse and longitudinal velocity correlations decay as $k^{-4}$ for wave vectors along the flow direction, and as $k^{-2}$ for the off-flow directions. For small wave vectors, a cross-over to a slower decay occurs, indicating long-range correlations in real space. The coupling between the transverse velocity components, which vanishes at equilibrium, also exhibits a $k^{-2}$ dependence on the wave vector. In addition, we observe a quadratic dependency on the shear rate of the non-equilibrium contribution to pressure.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2016

Conformational properties of active semiflexible polymers

The conformational properties of flexible and semiflexible polymers exposed to active noise are studied theoretically. The noise may originate from the interaction of the polymer with surround- ing active (Brownian) particles or from the inherent motion of the polymer itself, which may be composed of active Brownian particles. In the latter case, the respective monomers are indepen- dently propelled in directions changing diffusively. For the description of the polymer, we adopt the continuous Gaussian semiflexible polymer model. Specifically, the finite polymer extensibility is taken into account which turns out to be essentially for the polymer conformations. Our analytical calculations predict a strong dependence of the relaxation times on the activity. In particular, semi- flexible polymers exhibit a crossover from a bending-elasticity-dominated to the flexible-polymer dynamics with increasing activity. This leads to a significant noise-induced polymer shrinkage over a large range of self-propulsion velocities. For large activities, the polymers swell and their extension becomes comparable to the contour length. The scaling properties of the mean square end-to-end distance with respect to the polymer length and monomer activity are discussed.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2016

Bacterial swarmer cells in confinement: A mesoscale hydrodynamic simulation study

A wide spectrum of Peritrichous bacteria undergo considerable physiological changes when they are inoculated onto nutrition-rich surfaces and exhibit a rapid and collective migration denoted as swarming. Thereby, the length of such swarmer cells and their number of flagella increases substantially. In this article, we investigated the properties of individual E. coli-type swarmer cells confined between two parallel walls via mesoscale hydrodynamic simulations, combining molecular dynamics simulations of the swarmer cell with the multiparticle particle collision dynamics approach for the embedding fluid. E. coli-type swarmer cells are three-times longer than their planktonic counter parts, but their flagella density is comparable. By varying the wall separation, we analyze the confinement effect on the flagella arrangement, on the distribution of cells in the gap between the walls, and on the cell dynamics. We find only a weak dependence of confinement on the bundle structure and dynamics. The distribution of cells in the gap changes from a geometry-dominated behavior for very narrow to fluid-dominated behavior for wider gaps, where cells are preferentially located in the gap center for narrower gaps and stay preferentially next to one of the walls for wider gaps. Dynamically, the cells exhibit a wide spectrum of migration behaviors, depending on their flagella bundle arrangement, and ranges from straight swimming to wall rolling.

physics.bio-ph↗