Emergent hyperuniformity in periodically-driven emulsions

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that microfluidic emulsions under periodic driving can develop large-scale hyperuniform structures, with a transition from reversible to irreversible dynamics linked to structural changes.

Contribution

It reveals that hyperuniformity emerges in driven emulsions without the need for long-range hydrodynamic interactions, highlighting a robust link between reversibility and hyperuniformity.

Findings

Hyperuniform structures form in emulsions under periodic driving.

The transition from reversible to irreversible dynamics coincides with structural changes.

Long-range hydrodynamics are not necessary for hyperuniformity in these systems.

Abstract

We report the emergence of large-scale hyperuniformity in microfluidic emulsions. Upon periodic driving confined emulsions undergo a first-order transition from a reversible to an irreversible dynamics. We evidence that this dynamical transition is accompanied by structural changes at all scales yielding macroscopic yet finite hyperuniform structures. Numerical simulations are performed to single out the very ingredients responsible for the suppression of density fluctuations. We show that as opposed to equilibrium systems the long-range nature of the hydrodynamic interactions are not required for the formation of hyperuniform patterns, thereby suggesting a robust relation between reversibility and hyperuniformity which should hold in a broad class of periodically driven materials.