Advection selects pattern in multistable emulsions of active droplets
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866910011396980736 |
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| author | Köstler, Stefan Qiang, Yicheng Kusters, Guido Zwicker, David |
| author_facet | Köstler, Stefan Qiang, Yicheng Kusters, Guido Zwicker, David |
| contents | Controlling the size of droplets, for example in biological cells, is challenging because large droplets typically outcompete smaller droplets due to surface tension. This coarsening is generally accelerated by hydrodynamic effects, but active chemical reactions can suppress it. We show that the interplay of these processes leads to three different dynamical regimes: (1) Advection dominates the coalescence of small droplets, (2) diffusion leads to Ostwald ripening for intermediate sizes, and (3) reactions finally suppress coarsening. Interestingly, a range of final droplet sizes is stable, of which one is selected depending on initial conditions. Our analysis demonstrates that hydrodynamic effects control initial droplet sizes, but they do not affect the later dynamics, in contrast to passive emulsions. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_00827 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Advection selects pattern in multistable emulsions of active droplets Köstler, Stefan Qiang, Yicheng Kusters, Guido Zwicker, David Soft Condensed Matter Statistical Mechanics Biological Physics Fluid Dynamics Controlling the size of droplets, for example in biological cells, is challenging because large droplets typically outcompete smaller droplets due to surface tension. This coarsening is generally accelerated by hydrodynamic effects, but active chemical reactions can suppress it. We show that the interplay of these processes leads to three different dynamical regimes: (1) Advection dominates the coalescence of small droplets, (2) diffusion leads to Ostwald ripening for intermediate sizes, and (3) reactions finally suppress coarsening. Interestingly, a range of final droplet sizes is stable, of which one is selected depending on initial conditions. Our analysis demonstrates that hydrodynamic effects control initial droplet sizes, but they do not affect the later dynamics, in contrast to passive emulsions. |
| title | Advection selects pattern in multistable emulsions of active droplets |
| topic | Soft Condensed Matter Statistical Mechanics Biological Physics Fluid Dynamics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.00827 |