Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 10, 2026

Controlling Flow Speeds of Microtubule-Based 3D Active Fluids Using Temperature
Published on: November 26, 2019
Critical phenomena in active matter
M Paoluzzi1, C Maggi2, U Marini Bettolo Marconi3
1Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, USA.
None:
We investigate the effect of self-propulsion on a mean-field order-disorder transition. Starting from a φ^{4} scalar field theory subject to an exponentially correlated noise, we exploit the unified colored-noise approximation to map the nonequilibrium active dynamics onto an effective equilibrium one. This allows us to follow the evolution of the second-order critical point as a function of the noise parameters: the correlation time τ and the noise strength D. Our results suggest that the universality class of the model remains unchanged. We also estimate the effect of Gaussian fluctuations on the mean-field approximation finding an Ornstein-Zernike-like expression for the static structure factor at long wavelengths. Finally, to assess the validity of our predictions, we compare the mean-field theoretical results with numerical simulations of active Lennard-Jones particles in two and three dimensions, finding good qualitative agreement at small τ values.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
States of Matter
Scientists have discovered a fourth state of matter, plasma, that occurs naturally in the interiors...
States of Matter and Phase Changes
Classifying Matter by State
The Colloidal State
Spontaneity
Basic Postulates of Kinetic Molecular Theory: Particle Size, Energy, and Collision

