An agitated oscillator chain
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866909047722082304 |
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| author | Beyen, Aaron Maes, Christian Santra, Ion |
| author_facet | Beyen, Aaron Maes, Christian Santra, Ion |
| contents | We study how the stationary dynamics of an oscillator chain is modified when coupled to a bath of run-and-tumble particles. First, assuming time-scale separation, we derive the induced Langevin chain dynamics with explicit expressions for the streaming term, friction coefficient, and noise amplitude. At high persistence of the run-and-tumble particle bath, the linear friction turns negative, creating an instability. Second, we find that this anti-damping is arrested at long times due to nonlinear effects, reminiscent of a Rayleigh oscillator. We conclude that a passive harmonic chain can be transformed by its coupling to active matter into a self-sustained fluctuating medium with many-body Rayleigh-like dynamics. That transfer of activity results in pulsations of the displacements, spatial oscillations, and the emergence of persistence in velocities along the chain. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_16209 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | An agitated oscillator chain Beyen, Aaron Maes, Christian Santra, Ion Statistical Mechanics We study how the stationary dynamics of an oscillator chain is modified when coupled to a bath of run-and-tumble particles. First, assuming time-scale separation, we derive the induced Langevin chain dynamics with explicit expressions for the streaming term, friction coefficient, and noise amplitude. At high persistence of the run-and-tumble particle bath, the linear friction turns negative, creating an instability. Second, we find that this anti-damping is arrested at long times due to nonlinear effects, reminiscent of a Rayleigh oscillator. We conclude that a passive harmonic chain can be transformed by its coupling to active matter into a self-sustained fluctuating medium with many-body Rayleigh-like dynamics. That transfer of activity results in pulsations of the displacements, spatial oscillations, and the emergence of persistence in velocities along the chain. |
| title | An agitated oscillator chain |
| topic | Statistical Mechanics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.16209 |