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Quorum sensing-induced transition from colloidal waves to Turing-like patterns in chemorepulsive active colloids
Jiaqi Cao1, Jiaxin Wu1, Zhonghuai Hou1
1Department of Chemical Physics & Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscales, ichEM, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China. hzhlj@ustc.edu.cn.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP
|February 20, 2024
Summary
This study introduces a quorum sensing (QS) system where active colloids become less active at high densities. QS triggers a transition from colloidal waves to Turing-like patterns, influenced by diffusion and chemotaxis.
Area of Science:
- Soft Matter Physics
- Chemical Systems
Background:
- Active colloids are crucial in chemical background fields.
- Particle self-propulsion velocity was traditionally assumed constant, independent of local density.
Purpose of the Study:
- Introduce a novel chemotactic active system with quorum sensing (QS).
- Investigate the effect of QS on particle activity and pattern formation.
Main Methods:
- Developed a chemotactic active system where particles act as chemorepellents.
- Observed particle behavior in response to local density and chemical fields.
- Utilized a coarse-grained mean field model to explain dynamics.
Main Results:
- Particles lose activity in high-density regions due to QS.
- QS induces a transition from oscillatory colloidal waves to Turing-like patterns, with an intermediate state.
- Sensing threshold variation affects oscillation frequency and cluster number non-monotonically.
- QS-induced patterns differ significantly from non-QS systems due to diffusion-chemotaxis interplay.
Conclusions:
- Quorum sensing fundamentally alters active colloid behavior and pattern formation.
- The interplay between diffusion and chemotaxis is key to QS-driven pattern dynamics.
- The developed model effectively explains the observed complex phenomena in active matter systems.
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