Wetting dynamics by mixtures of fast and slow self-propelled particles

Abstract

We study active surface wetting using a minimal model of bacteria that takes into account the intrinsic motility diversity of living matter. A mixture of "fast" and "slow" self-propelled Brownian particles is considered in the presence of a wall. The evolution of the wetting layer thickness shows an overshoot before stationarity and its composition evolves in two stages, equilibrating after a slow elimination of excess particles. Non-monotonic evolutions are shown to arise from delayed avalanches towards the dilute phase combined with the emergence of a transient particle front.

7 pages, 6 figures

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• Restoring the fluctuation-dissipation theorem in Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class through a new emergent fractal dimension
• Active Young-Dupré Equation: How Self-organized Currents Stabilize Partial Wetting
• Emergent Gauge Symmetry in Active Brownian Matter
• Mobility-induced phase separation in a binary mixture of active Brownian particles
• What is active wetting?
• Bubble formation in active binary mixture model