Stalled Particles Drive Phase Separation in Active Matter
Research Paper#Active Matter, Phase Separation, Hydrodynamics🔬 Research|Analyzed: Jan 3, 2026 08:40•
Published: Dec 31, 2025 11:47
•1 min read
•ArXivAnalysis
This paper investigates how the presence of stalled active particles, which mediate attractive interactions, can significantly alter the phase behavior of active matter systems. It highlights a mechanism beyond standard motility-induced phase separation (MIPS), showing that even a small fraction of stalled particles can drive phase separation at lower densities than predicted by MIPS, potentially bridging the gap between theoretical models and experimental observations.
Key Takeaways
- •Introduces a model of active Brownian particles with a fraction of stalled particles.
- •Stalled particles mediate attractive interactions via an effective potential.
- •A small fraction of stalled particles can drive phase separation at lower densities than MIPS.
- •Provides a phase diagram in terms of the fraction of stalled particles and the Peclet number.
Reference / Citation
View Original"A small fraction of stalled particles in the system allows for the formation of dynamical clusters at significantly lower densities than predicted by standard MIPS."