Segregation dynamics in active-passive mixtures of semiflexible filaments

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Bhowmik, Chitrak, Baskaran, Aparna, Ramaswamy, Sriram
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Bhowmik, Chitrak
Baskaran, Aparna
Ramaswamy, Sriram
author_facet Bhowmik, Chitrak
Baskaran, Aparna
Ramaswamy, Sriram
contents We study the segregation of motile semiflexible filaments from a background of similar but non-motile filaments. Our Langevin dynamics simulations reveal a wide range of emergent structures governed by filament flexibility and activity, i.e., self-propulsion strength. The system segregates at low activities, while at high activities it undergoes remixing which is a characteristic feature of semi-flexible active filaments. We show that collision-induced softening of single filaments is the dominant mode for this remixing. We provide a scaling argument for the lowering of the active polymer stiffness and show that it agrees well with the lowering of the segregation order parameter. We expect that our studies will shed light on the spatial organization of biofilaments within the cell, on the plasma-membrane, and beyond, and help in the design of novel biomaterials whose structure can be tuned via the properties of the active or the passive filaments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_17240
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Segregation dynamics in active-passive mixtures of semiflexible filaments
Bhowmik, Chitrak
Baskaran, Aparna
Ramaswamy, Sriram
Soft Condensed Matter
We study the segregation of motile semiflexible filaments from a background of similar but non-motile filaments. Our Langevin dynamics simulations reveal a wide range of emergent structures governed by filament flexibility and activity, i.e., self-propulsion strength. The system segregates at low activities, while at high activities it undergoes remixing which is a characteristic feature of semi-flexible active filaments. We show that collision-induced softening of single filaments is the dominant mode for this remixing. We provide a scaling argument for the lowering of the active polymer stiffness and show that it agrees well with the lowering of the segregation order parameter. We expect that our studies will shed light on the spatial organization of biofilaments within the cell, on the plasma-membrane, and beyond, and help in the design of novel biomaterials whose structure can be tuned via the properties of the active or the passive filaments.
title Segregation dynamics in active-passive mixtures of semiflexible filaments
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.17240