Alignment Destabilizes Crystal Orders in Active Systems

Abstract

We combine numerical and analytical methods to study two dimensional active crystals formed by permanently linked swimmers and with two distinct alignment interactions. The system admits a stationary phase with quasi long range translational order, as well as a moving phase with quasi-long range velocity order. The translational order in the moving phase is significantly influenced by alignment interaction. For Vicsek-like alignment, the translational order is short-ranged, whereas the bond-orientational order is quasi-long ranged, implying a moving hexatic phase. For elasticity-based alignment, the translational order is quasi-long ranged parallel to the motion and short-ranged in perpendicular direction, whereas the bond orientational order is long-ranged. We also generalize these results to higher dimensions.

References in corpus (10)

• Novel type of phase transition in a system of self-driven particles
• Minimal model for active nematics: quasi-long-range order and giant fluctuations
• Spontaneous velocity alignment in Motility-induced Phase Separation
• Active phase separation by turning toward regions of higher density
• Active nematics are intrinsically phase-separated
• Defect-Mediated Phase Transitions in Active Soft Matter
• Live Soap: Order, Fluctuations and Instabilities in Active Smectics
• Synchronization in dynamical networks of locally coupled self-propelled oscillators
• Accurate determination of the translational correlation function of two-dimensional solids
• Nonlinear Elasticity, Fluctuations and Heterogeneity of Nematic Elastomers

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Extreme Spontaneous Deformations of Active Crystals
• Enhancing (quasi-)long-range order in a two-dimensional driven crystal
• Long-range translational order and hyperuniformity in two-dimensional chiral active crystal
• Hyperuniform interfaces in non-equilibrium phase coexistence
• Collective excitations in active solids featuring alignment interactions