Issue 21, 2023

Intermittent relaxation and avalanches in extremely persistent active matter

Abstract

We use numerical simulations to study the dynamics of dense assemblies of self-propelled particles in the limit of extremely large, but finite, persistence times. In this limit, the system evolves intermittently between mechanical equilibria where active forces balance interparticle interactions. We develop an efficient numerical strategy allowing us to resolve the statistical properties of elastic and plastic relaxation events caused by activity-driven fluctuations. The system relaxes via a succession of scale-free elastic events and broadly distributed plastic events that both depend on the system size. Correlations between plastic events lead to emergent dynamic facilitation and heterogeneous relaxation dynamics. Our results show that dynamical behaviour in extremely persistent active systems is qualitatively similar to that of sheared amorphous solids, yet with some important differences.

Graphical abstract: Intermittent relaxation and avalanches in extremely persistent active matter

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Jan 2023
Accepted
24 Apr 2023
First published
02 May 2023

Soft Matter, 2023,19, 3871-3883

Intermittent relaxation and avalanches in extremely persistent active matter

Y. Keta, R. Mandal, P. Sollich, R. L. Jack and L. Berthier, Soft Matter, 2023, 19, 3871 DOI: 10.1039/D3SM00034F

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