arXiv subjects

Zhanglin Hou

Publications and source records attributed to Zhanglin Hou.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Geometric formulation of state-dependent Langevin dynamics using scalar free energy

Stochastic dynamics with state-dependent diffusion are widely used for Brownian motion in confined, anisotropic, and hydrodynamically coupled systems. The conventional Langevin formulation includes a spurious drift associated with multiplicative noise, but its free energy generally does not transform as a scalar, meaning that the covariance is not explicit. Here, we formulate a geometrically consistent Langevin equation by introducing a scalar free energy and using the diffusion tensor as a metric on configuration space. The spurious drift is then expressed as a Christoffel contribution of the diffusion metric. While our formulation is equivalent to the conventional one through the relation between the non-scalar and scalar free energies, it makes the coordinate covariance explicit. We demonstrate its consistency in representative examples of state-dependent diffusion arising from coordinate transformations, geometrical confinement, and projection from curved to flat spaces.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2026

Covariant Onsager and Onsager-Machlup principles for active and inertial dynamics

The Onsager principle provides a variational route to the phenomenological equations of dissipative dynamics through the minimization of the Rayleighian. We develop a covariant formulation of the Onsager principle for active and inertial systems, ensuring geometric consistency under coordinate transformations. To further incorporate thermal fluctuations, we formulate the Onsager-Machlup principle for active and inertial systems by considering the Onsager-Machlup functional and the corresponding path probability for stochastic trajectories. Requiring that the path probability obeys the detailed fluctuation theorem, we show that the extended Onsager-Machlup theory is consistent with stochastic thermodynamics. The extended OP and OMP offer a unified and useful variational framework for deriving the dynamical equations of active and inertial systems.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2026

Fokker-Planck description of an active Brownian particle with rotational inertia

We develop a perturbative framework to calculate the mean-squared displacement (MSD) of active Brownian particles (ABPs) with a finite moment of inertia. Starting from the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation, we employ a Fourier transform for the spatial coordinates and Hermite polynomials as eigenfunctions for the angular velocity, which enables a systematic perturbative expansion of the MSD order by order. By resumming the resulting series in Laplace space and performing the inverse transform, we obtain an explicit expression for the MSD as a function of the moment of inertia. The analytical results are further validated by comparison with numerical simulations.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2026

Ornstein-Uhlenbeck information particle: A new candidate of active agent

An information particle can acquire active-like motion through transforming the information entropy into effective self-propulsion velocity/force using the attached information engine. We consider an underdamped Brownian particle additionally driven by either a constant self-propulsion force or an information engine using Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) bath feedback control, such particles are called self-propelled particle (SPP) or OU information particle (OUIP). Compared to the widely-investigated SPP, the OUIP shows a significant different dynamical pattern, including two types of moving mode: a slow-speed diffusion mode and a high-speed traveling mode. The specific evolution of OUIP can be adjusted flexibly between such two modes through the inertial effect, thus acquiring a rich and non-trivial motion behavior. By tuning the strength of fluctuation of the OU bath, a wide range of net velocity can be achieved for OUIP. We highlight that OUIP could be an exceptional candidate for active agent.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2025

Neural optimization of the most probable paths of 3D active Brownian particles

We develop a variational neural-network framework to determine the most probable path (MPP) of a 3D active Brownian particle (ABP) by directly minimizing the Onsager-Machlup integral (OMI). To obtain the OMI, we use the Onsager-Machlup variational principle for active systems and construct the Rayleighian of the ABP by including its active power. This approach reveals geometric transitions of the MPP from in-plane I- and U-shaped paths to 3D helical paths as the final time and net displacement are varied. We also demonstrate that the initial and final boundary conditions have a significant impact on the MPPs. Our results show that neural optimization combined with the Onsager-Machlup variational principle provides an efficient and versatile framework for exploring optimal transition pathways in active and nonequilibrium systems.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Thermally driven two-sphere microswimmer with internal feedback control

We discuss the locomotion of a thermally driven elastic two-sphere microswimmer with internal feedback control that is realized by the position-dependent friction coefficients. In our model, the two spheres are in equilibrium with independent heat baths having different temperatures, causing a heat flow between the two spheres. We generally show that the average velocity of the microswimmer is nonzero when the friction coefficients are position-dependent. Using the method of stochastic thermodynamics, we obtain the entropy production rate and discuss the efficiency of the two-sphere microswimmer. The proposed self-propulsion mechanism highlights the importance of information in active matter and can be a fundamental process in various biological systems.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Ornstein-Uhlenbeck information swimmers with external and internal feedback controls

Using an underdamped active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck particle, we propose two information swimmer models having either external or internal feedback control and perform their numerical simulations. Depending on the velocity that is measured after every fixed time interval (measurement time), the friction coefficient is modified in the externally controlled model, whereas the persistence time for the activity is changed in the internally controlled one. In the steady state, both of these information swimmers acquire finite average velocities in the noisy environment, and the efficiency can be maximized by tuning the measurement time. The internally controlled swimmer can generally achieve a larger velocity and efficiency than the externally controlled one when the active fluctuation is large.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Time-correlation functions of stochastic three-sphere micromachines

We discuss and compare the statistical properties of two stochastic three-sphere micromachines, i.e., odd micromachine and thermal micromachine. We calculate the steady state time-correlation functions for these micromachines and decompose them into the symmetric and antisymmetric parts. In both cases, the cross-correlation between the two spring extensions has an antisymmetric part, which is a direct consequence of the broken time-reversal symmetry. For the odd micromachine, the antisymmetric part of the correlation function is proportional to the odd elasticity, whereas it is proportional to the temperature difference between the two edge spheres for the thermal micromachine. The entropy production rate and the Green-Kubo relations for the two micromachines are also obtained. Comparing the results of the two models, we argue an effective odd elastic constant of the thermal micromachine. The effective odd elasticity of the thermal micromachine is proportional to the temperature difference among the spheres, which causes an internal heat flow and leads to directional locomotion in the presence of hydrodynamic interactions.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

Non-reciprocal Phase Separations with Non-conserved Order Parameters

We numerically investigate the phase separation dynamics of the non-reciprocal Allen-Cahn model in which two non-conserved order parameters are coupled. The system exhibits several dynamical patterns such as the randomly oscillating phase and the spiral phase as well as the homogeneously oscillating phase. Topological defects in the spirals are either bound or unbound depending on the non-reciprocality. The traveling stripe pattern is also found when the diffusion constants are highly asymmetric and the non-reciprocality is small.

cond-mat.soft↗