Stalled Particles Drive Phase Separation in Active Matter
Published:Dec 31, 2025 11:47
•1 min read
•ArXiv
Analysis
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
“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.”