Emergence of Dynamical Anisotropy induced by Demixing in a Binary System with Differential Diffusivity under an External Potential

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Hauptverfasser: Trivedi, Rashmi, Paul, Subhajit, Kundu, Sumanta, Kumari, Sunita
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Trivedi, Rashmi
Paul, Subhajit
Kundu, Sumanta
Kumari, Sunita
author_facet Trivedi, Rashmi
Paul, Subhajit
Kundu, Sumanta
Kumari, Sunita
contents Spontaneous demixing in active matter is a ubiquitous phenomenon that is crucial for numerous living processes ranging from bacterial swarming to sorting of cells in dense tissues. Here, we systematically investigate the effect of spatially varying potential acting along one direction and packing fraction on the binary mixture of particles with different diffusivities. Our results indicate that the presence of an external potential promotes demixing over a larger range of packing fractions, while also fostering a more pronounced 'hexatic order' within the bands of less diffusive "cold") particles formed near the minima of the potential. The mean-squared displacements (MSD) of "cold" and "hot" particles in different directions exhibit a distinct behavior. In contrast to the long-time sub-diffusive behavior of the "cold" particles, the "hot" ones display diffusive nature following an intermediate plateau. However, in the direction transverse to the applied potential, both types of particles undergo normal diffusion. Furthermore, interesting non-Gaussian characteristics are observed, corresponding to the spatial distribution of the displacement of "hot" and "cold" particles. Interestingly, our results reveal the formation of a 'percolating band', and the emergence of such dynamic anisotropy is not observed in the absence of an external potential. These aspects are highly relevant to the dynamics of various systems-including densely packed tissues, bacterial motility in confined spaces, and granular segregation in the pharmaceutical industry.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_29552
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Emergence of Dynamical Anisotropy induced by Demixing in a Binary System with Differential Diffusivity under an External Potential
Trivedi, Rashmi
Paul, Subhajit
Kundu, Sumanta
Kumari, Sunita
Soft Condensed Matter
Spontaneous demixing in active matter is a ubiquitous phenomenon that is crucial for numerous living processes ranging from bacterial swarming to sorting of cells in dense tissues. Here, we systematically investigate the effect of spatially varying potential acting along one direction and packing fraction on the binary mixture of particles with different diffusivities. Our results indicate that the presence of an external potential promotes demixing over a larger range of packing fractions, while also fostering a more pronounced 'hexatic order' within the bands of less diffusive "cold") particles formed near the minima of the potential. The mean-squared displacements (MSD) of "cold" and "hot" particles in different directions exhibit a distinct behavior. In contrast to the long-time sub-diffusive behavior of the "cold" particles, the "hot" ones display diffusive nature following an intermediate plateau. However, in the direction transverse to the applied potential, both types of particles undergo normal diffusion. Furthermore, interesting non-Gaussian characteristics are observed, corresponding to the spatial distribution of the displacement of "hot" and "cold" particles. Interestingly, our results reveal the formation of a 'percolating band', and the emergence of such dynamic anisotropy is not observed in the absence of an external potential. These aspects are highly relevant to the dynamics of various systems-including densely packed tissues, bacterial motility in confined spaces, and granular segregation in the pharmaceutical industry.
title Emergence of Dynamical Anisotropy induced by Demixing in a Binary System with Differential Diffusivity under an External Potential
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.29552