Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 37: Active Matter IV (joint session DY/BP/CPP)

DY 37.8: Talk

Wednesday, March 18, 2020, 12:00–12:15, ZEU 160

A minimal model for dynamical symmetry breaking in active matter — Matt Davison and •Patrick Pietzonka — Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, UK

It is well known that asymmetrically shaped passive particles immersed in active matter move in a persistent direction. Recent work provides a thermodynamic framework and design principles for engines exploiting this mechanism [1]. We build on these results and reveal that symmetric passive particles in contact with active matter perform such a persistent motion as well. Its direction is determined through spontaneous symmetry breaking and remains fixed in time in the limit of a large number of active particles. We present an analytically solvable one-dimensional model for a single passive particle interacting with many active particles, which provides a physical understanding of these effects.

[1] P. Pietzonka et al., Phys Rev. X 9, 041032 (2019)