Interplay between jamming and MIPS in persistent self-propelling particles

TL;DR

This paper explores how self-propulsion affects phase transitions in active particles, revealing an interplay between jamming and MIPS that leads to unique dynamics and hysteresis.

Contribution

It uncovers the interaction between jamming and motility-induced phase separation in persistent active particles, highlighting their combined effects on system dynamics.

Findings

Jamming and MIPS coexist and intersect at a critical point.

Active jamming exhibits hysteresis and anomalous dynamics.

The interplay influences phase behavior in active particle systems.

Abstract

In living and engineered systems of active particles, self-propulsion induces an unjamming transition from a solid to a fluid phase and phase separation between a gas and a liquid-like phase. We demonstrate an interplay between these two nonequilibrium transitions in systems of persistent active particles. The coexistence and jamming lines in the activity-density plane meet at the jamming transition point in the limit of hard particles or zero activity. This interplay induces an anomalous dynamic in the liquid phase and hysteresis at the active jamming transition.