Critical mingling and universal correlations in model binary active liquids.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28656963.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms15969 and PMC identifier 5493750.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Ensembles of driven or motile bodies moving along opposite directions are generically reported to self-organize into strongly anisotropic lanes. Here, building on a minimal model of self-propelled bodies targeting opposite directions, we first evidence a critical phase transition between a mingled state and a phase-separated lane state specific to active particles. We then demonstrate that the mingled state displays algebraic structural correlations also found in driven binary mixtures. Finally, constructing a hydrodynamic theory, we single out the physical mechanisms responsible for these universal long-range correlations typical of ensembles of oppositely moving bodies.