Active alignment-driven coarsening in confined near-critical fluids
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arXiv
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
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| author | A, Parameshwaran Gupta, Bhaskar Sen |
| author_facet | A, Parameshwaran Gupta, Bhaskar Sen |
| contents | We investigate vapor-liquid phase separation of an active near critical Lennard-Jones fluid confined within a cylindrical pore using molecular dynamics simulations. Activity is introduced via Vicsek-type alignment interactions, enabling a systematic study of how self-propulsion modifies domain morphology and coarsening kinetics under quasi-one-dimensional confinement. In the passive limit, the system undergoes early-time spinodal decomposition (diffusive growth characterized by the Lifshitz-Slyozov exponent $α= 1/3$), followed by the formation of periodically modulated, plug-like liquid domains along the pore axis. At late times, coarsening becomes kinetically arrested, and the system remains trapped in a metastable striped state. Introducing activity destabilizes this arrested morphology by enhancing collective domain transport, leading to frequent domain mergers and complete phase separation at sufficiently high activity. The late-stage coarsening then exhibits a crossover to faster, ballistic growth with an effective exponent $α= 2/3$, consistent with a cluster-coalescence mechanism. Analysis of two-point correlation functions and structure factors confirms dynamic scaling across all activity regimes. Our results demonstrate that alignment-induced activity can overcome confinement-driven kinetic arrest, providing new insight into phase separation in confined active fluids. The relevant growth laws are analyzed and interpreted using appropriate theoretical frameworks. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_09181 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Active alignment-driven coarsening in confined near-critical fluids A, Parameshwaran Gupta, Bhaskar Sen Soft Condensed Matter Materials Science Statistical Mechanics Biological Physics We investigate vapor-liquid phase separation of an active near critical Lennard-Jones fluid confined within a cylindrical pore using molecular dynamics simulations. Activity is introduced via Vicsek-type alignment interactions, enabling a systematic study of how self-propulsion modifies domain morphology and coarsening kinetics under quasi-one-dimensional confinement. In the passive limit, the system undergoes early-time spinodal decomposition (diffusive growth characterized by the Lifshitz-Slyozov exponent $α= 1/3$), followed by the formation of periodically modulated, plug-like liquid domains along the pore axis. At late times, coarsening becomes kinetically arrested, and the system remains trapped in a metastable striped state. Introducing activity destabilizes this arrested morphology by enhancing collective domain transport, leading to frequent domain mergers and complete phase separation at sufficiently high activity. The late-stage coarsening then exhibits a crossover to faster, ballistic growth with an effective exponent $α= 2/3$, consistent with a cluster-coalescence mechanism. Analysis of two-point correlation functions and structure factors confirms dynamic scaling across all activity regimes. Our results demonstrate that alignment-induced activity can overcome confinement-driven kinetic arrest, providing new insight into phase separation in confined active fluids. The relevant growth laws are analyzed and interpreted using appropriate theoretical frameworks. |
| title | Active alignment-driven coarsening in confined near-critical fluids |
| topic | Soft Condensed Matter Materials Science Statistical Mechanics Biological Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.09181 |