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Universal Hydrodynamic Mechanisms for Crystallization in Active Colloidal Suspensions
, R. Adhikari
Published in American Physical Society
2016
Volume: 117
   
Issue: 22
Abstract
The lack of detailed balance in active colloidal suspensions allows dissipation to determine stationary states. Here we show that slow viscous flow produced by polar or apolar active colloids near plane walls mediates attractive hydrodynamic forces that drive crystallization. Hydrodynamically mediated torques tend to destabilize the crystal but stability can be regained through critical amounts of bottom heaviness or chiral activity. Numerical simulations show that crystallization is not nucleational, as in equilibrium, but is preceded by a spinodal-like instability. Harmonic excitations of the active crystal relax diffusively but the normal modes are distinct from an equilibrium colloidal crystal. The hydrodynamic mechanisms presented here are universal and rationalize recent experiments on the crystallization of active colloids. © 2016 American Physical Society.
About the journal
JournalPhysical Review Letters
PublisherAmerican Physical Society
ISSN00319007