Phase Separation Driven by Active Flows

Abstract

We extend the continuum theories of active nematohydrodynamics to model a two-fluid mixture with separate velocity fields for each fluid component, coupled through a viscous drag. The model is used to study an active nematic fluid, mixed with an isotropic fluid. We find micro-phase separation, and argue that this results from an interplay between active anchoring and active flows driven by concentration gradients. The results may be relevant to cell-sorting and the formation of lipid rafts in cell membranes.

References in corpus (19)

• The Mechanics and Statistics of Active Matter
• Motility-Induced Phase Separation
• Spontaneous motion in hierarchically assembled active matter
• Physical Models of Collective Cell Migration
• A continuum theory of phase separation kinetics for active Brownian particles
• Scalar ${\varphi }^4$ field theory for active-particle phase separation
• Active wetting of epithelial tissues
• Spontaneous division and motility in active nematic droplets
• Biphasic, Lyotropic, Active Nematics
• Flow-induced phase separation of active particles is controlled by boundary conditions
• Motility-induced phase separation and coarsening in active matter
• Active phase separation by turning toward regions of higher density
• Dynamics of active liquid interfaces
• Emergence of active nematics in bacterial biofilms
• Hydrodynamically interrupted droplet growth in scalar active matter
• Dynamic clustering of passive colloids in dense suspensions of motile bacteria
• Activity-suppressed phase separation
• Active turbulence and spontaneous phase separation in inhomogeneous extensile active gels
• Large-scale simulations of biological cell sorting driven by differential adhesion follow diffusion-limited domain coalescence regime

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Cell Sorting in an Active Nematic Vertex Model
• Traveling waves at the surface of active liquid crystals
• Cell sorting by active forces in a phase-field model of cell monolayers
• Phase Ordering in Binary Mixtures of Active Nematic Fluids
• Active fluids form system-spanning filamentary networks
• Phase Separation in Mixtures of Nematic and Isotropic Fluids
• Topological sorting of magnetic colloidal bipeds