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Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Microtensiometer for Confocal Microscopy Visualization of Dynamic Interfaces
Published on: September 9, 2022
Nonequilibrium fluctuations of an interface under shear
Marine Thiébaud1, Thomas Bickel
1CPMOH, Université de Bordeaux and CNRS (UMR 5798), 351 Cours de la Libération, 33405 Talence, France.
Abstract:
The steady-state properties of an interface in a stationary Couette flow are addressed within the framework of fluctuating hydrodynamics. Our study reveals that thermal fluctuations are driven out of equilibrium by an effective shear rate that differs from the applied one. In agreement with experiments, we find that the mean-square displacement of the interface is reduced by the flow. We also show that nonequilibrium fluctuations present a certain degree of universality in the sense that all features of the fluids can be factorized into a single control parameter. Finally, the results are discussed in the light of recent experimental and numerical studies.
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