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Speed-dispersion-induced alignment: A one-dimensional model inspired by swimming droplets experiments.
Pierre Illien1,2, Charlotte de Blois1, Yang Liu3
1Gulliver Lab UMR CNRS 7083, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France.
Physical Review. E
|May 20, 2020
Summary
Self-propelled droplets in microfluidic channels exhibit collective motion and condensation. A new model shows a transition to aligned motion, with condensation as a transient phase before homogeneous alignment.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Soft Matter Physics
- Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Self-propelled droplets are active matter systems exhibiting complex behaviors.
- Confining droplets in microfluidic channels allows for the study of their collective dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the collective dynamics of self-propelled droplets in a 1D microfluidic channel.
- To develop and analyze a minimalistic model that captures the observed droplet behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Experimental observation of droplet interactions and collective motion in a 1D channel.
- Development of a 1D active particle model.
- Analytical arguments and numerical simulations to study the model's dynamics.
Main Results:
- Droplets spontaneously align into trains moving in the same direction.
- Droplet condensation occurs, forming dense regions and sparse areas.
- A model incorporating speed dispersion and lack of Galilean invariance reproduces these phenomena.
- The model demonstrates a transition to collective motion for a wide range of parameters.
Conclusions:
- The interplay of speed dispersion and Galilean invariance absence drives local droplet alignment.
- Condensation is a transient phenomenon that precedes the establishment of homogeneous aligned motion.
- The proposed minimalistic model effectively captures the essential dynamics of self-propelled droplets in 1D.
