Active matter transport and jamming on disordered landscapes

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Soft Matter Physics
• Statistical Mechanics

Background:

• Active matter systems exhibit complex behaviors due to self-propulsion and interactions.
• Transport in disordered media is a fundamental problem with applications in various scientific fields.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of run length on the transport of active run-and-tumble particles in disordered landscapes.
• To understand the mechanisms leading to transport reduction and jamming in these systems.

Main Methods:

• Numerical simulations were employed to model the system.
• The study considered active run-and-tumble particles with steric interactions and a drift force.
• Random disordered landscapes with fixed obstacles were used to represent the environment.

Main Results:

• Particle transport initially increases with run length, then decreases, indicating an optimal activity level.
• Transport reduction is linked to the formation of jammed clusters or living crystals within the disordered landscape.
• Increased run length leads to dynamic jamming at lower particle densities.

Conclusions:

• There exists an optimal activity level for efficient transport of active matter in quenched disorder.
• The findings are relevant for understanding biological transport in complex environments and for designing active matter applications.
• Steric interactions and landscape disorder significantly influence active matter dynamics and transport properties.