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Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures
Published on: May 20, 2014
Estimation of the critical behavior in an active colloidal system with Vicsek-like interactions
Benjamin Trefz1, Jonathan Tammo Siebert1, Thomas Speck1
1Department of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
Abstract:
We study numerically the critical behavior of a modified, active Asakura-Oosawa model for colloid-polymer mixtures. The colloids are modeled as self-propelled particles with Vicsek-like interactions. This system undergoes phase separation between a colloid-rich and a polymer-rich phase, whereby the phase diagram depends on the strength of the Vicsek-like interactions. Employing a subsystem-block-density distribution analysis, we determine the critical point and make an attempt to estimate the critical exponents. In contrast to the passive model, we find that the critical point is not located on the rectilinear diameter. A first estimate of the critical exponents β and ν is consistent with the underlying 3d-Ising universality class observed for the passive model.
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