Critical Motility-Induced Phase Separation in Three Dimensions is Consistent with Ising Universality

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Feng, Jiechao, Evans, Daniel, Omar, Ahmad K.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Feng, Jiechao
Evans, Daniel
Omar, Ahmad K.
author_facet Feng, Jiechao
Evans, Daniel
Omar, Ahmad K.
contents Identifying the universality class of critical active phase transitions has been the subject of recent interest and controversy. Resolving these controversies will require robust numerical investigations to determine whether active critical exponents point to novel universality classes or are consistent with established ones. Here, we conduct large-scale computer simulations and a finite-size scaling analysis of the motility-induced phase separation (MIPS) of active Brownian hard spheres in three dimensions (3D), finding that the static and dynamic critical exponents all closely match those of the 3D Ising universality class with a conserved scalar order parameter. This finding is corroborated by a fluctuating hydrodynamic description of the critical dynamics of the order parameter field which flows to the Wilson-Fisher fixed point in three dimensions. Our work suggests that 3D MIPS and likely the entire phase diagram of active Brownian hard spheres is similar to that of molecular passive fluids despite the absence of Boltzmann statistics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_09069
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Critical Motility-Induced Phase Separation in Three Dimensions is Consistent with Ising Universality
Feng, Jiechao
Evans, Daniel
Omar, Ahmad K.
Statistical Mechanics
Soft Condensed Matter
Identifying the universality class of critical active phase transitions has been the subject of recent interest and controversy. Resolving these controversies will require robust numerical investigations to determine whether active critical exponents point to novel universality classes or are consistent with established ones. Here, we conduct large-scale computer simulations and a finite-size scaling analysis of the motility-induced phase separation (MIPS) of active Brownian hard spheres in three dimensions (3D), finding that the static and dynamic critical exponents all closely match those of the 3D Ising universality class with a conserved scalar order parameter. This finding is corroborated by a fluctuating hydrodynamic description of the critical dynamics of the order parameter field which flows to the Wilson-Fisher fixed point in three dimensions. Our work suggests that 3D MIPS and likely the entire phase diagram of active Brownian hard spheres is similar to that of molecular passive fluids despite the absence of Boltzmann statistics.
title Critical Motility-Induced Phase Separation in Three Dimensions is Consistent with Ising Universality
topic Statistical Mechanics
Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.09069