Active Phases for Particles on Resource Landscapes

TL;DR

This paper presents a model of active particles interacting with resource landscapes, revealing diverse phases such as waves, clustering, and frozen states, with potential applications in colloidal systems and ecological modeling.

Contribution

It introduces a novel active matter model with resource-dependent movement, demonstrating multiple phases and effects of passive particles, bridging soft matter and ecological systems.

Findings

Identified phases including waves, clustering, and frozen states.

Passive particles form crystalline clusters within active fluids.

Model applicable to colloidal systems and ecological phenomena.

Abstract

We introduce an active matter model composed of sterically interacting particles which absorb resources from a substrate and move in response to resource gradients. For varied ratios of absorption rate to substrate recovery rate, we find a variety of phases including periodic waves, partial clustering, stochastic motion, and a frozen state. If passive particles are added, they can form crystalline clusters in an active fluid. This model could be implemented using colloidal systems on feedback landscapes and can provide a soft matter realization of excitable media and ecological systems.