Morphology, Polarization Patterns, Compression, and Entropy Production in Phase-Separating Active Dumbbell Systems

TL;DR

This paper explores how polar patterns and defects form in active dumbbell systems, linking their behavior to compression and entropy production.

Contribution

The study connects polar pattern formation, topological defects, and entropy production in phase-separating active systems.

Findings

Softer interactions allow dumbbells to compress more, forming blurred hexatic and polar patterns.

Inward-pointing defects drive cluster compression and create non-trivial density profiles.

Entropy profiles reflect defect types, offering a thermodynamic way to identify them.

Abstract

Polar patterns and topological defects are ubiquitous in active matter. In this paper, we study a paradigmatic polar active dumbbell system through numerical simulations, to clarify how polar patterns and defects emerge and shape evolution. We focus on the interplay between these patterns and morphology, domain growth, irreversibility, and compressibility, tuned by dumbbell rigidity and interaction strength. Our results show that, when separated through MIPS, dumbbells with softer interactions can slide one relative to each other and compress more easily, producing blurred hexatic patterns, polarization patterns extended across entire hexatically varied domains, and stronger compression effects. Analysis of isolated domains reveals the consistent presence of inward-pointing topological defects that drive cluster compression and generate non-trivial density profiles, whose magnitude and extension are ruled by the rigidity of the pairwise potential. Investigation of entropy production reveals instead that clusters hosting an aster/spiral defect are characterized by a flat/increasing entropy profile mirroring the underlying polarization structure, thus suggesting an alternative avenue to distinguish topological defects on thermodynamical grounds. Overall, our study highlights how interaction strength and defect–compression interplay affect cluster evolution in particle-based active models, and also provides connections with recent studies of continuum polar active field models.

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