Effect of Convection Rolls in Motility-Induced Phase Separation of Active Janus Particles

Abstract

We numerically study motility-induced phase separation of active particles in two-dimensional convection rolls. We analyse local packing-fraction distributions, density fluctuations, the corresponding phase diagrams, and diffusivity curves to characterise the interplay between self-propulsion, global packing fraction, and advection strength. In the weak-flow regime, the system exhibits phase separation characterised by bimodal density distributions, slowly decaying density fluctuations, and a sharp reduction in diffusivity. Increasing advection suppresses clustering by enhancing particle transport and reducing trapping, leading to a shift in the critical self-propulsion velocity for motility-induced phase separation and a shrinkage of the spinodal region. Beyond the intuitive suppression of clustering by weak-flow advection, our results reveal several non-trivial phenomena including a reentrant phase behaviour where extremely high self-propulsion hinders motility-induced phase separation by facilitating particle escape from dense regions. We also observe that the density distributions strongly depend on roll periodicity. These findings demonstrate that convection rolls provide an effective means to control non-equilibrium collective behaviour in active matter.

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