Aggregation dynamics of active rotating particles in dense passive media
Author(s)
Aragones, Juan L.; Steimel, Joshua P.; Alexander-Katz, Alfredo
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Active matter systems are able to exhibit emergent non-equilibrium behavior due to activity-induced effective interactions between the active particles. Here we study the aggregation and dynamical behavior of active rotating particles, spinners, embedded in 2D passive colloidal monolayers. Using both experiments and simulations we observe aggregation of active particles or spinners whose behavior resembles classical 2D Cahn-Hilliard coarsening. The aggregation behavior and spinner attraction depend on the mechanical properties of the passive monolayer and the activity of spinners. Spinner aggregation only occurs when the passive monolayer behaves elastically and when the spinner activity exceeds a minimum activity threshold. Interestingly, for the spinner concentrations investigated here, the spinner concentration does not seem to change the dynamics of the aggregation behavior. There is a characteristic cluster size which maximizes spinner aggregation by minimizing the drag through the passive monolayer and maximizing the stress applied on the passive medium. We also show a ternary mixture of passive particles and co-rotating and counter-rotating spinners that aggregate into clusters of co and counter-rotating spinners respectively.
Date issued
2019-04Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and EngineeringJournal
Soft Matter
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Citation
Aragones, Juan L. et al. "Aggregation dynamics of active rotating particles in dense passive media." Soft Matter 15, 19 (April 2019): 3929-3937 © 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry
Version: Final published version
ISSN
1744-683X
1744-6848