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Multiple temperatures and melting of a colloidal active crystal

Author

Listed:
  • Helena Massana-Cid

    (Sapienza Università di Roma)

  • Claudio Maggi

    (Sapienza Università di Roma
    Institute of Nanotechnology)

  • Nicoletta Gnan

    (Sapienza Università di Roma
    Uos Sapienza)

  • Giacomo Frangipane

    (Sapienza Università di Roma
    Institute of Nanotechnology)

  • Roberto Di Leonardo

    (Sapienza Università di Roma
    Institute of Nanotechnology)

Abstract

Thermal fluctuations constantly excite all relaxation modes in an equilibrium crystal. As the temperature rises, these fluctuations promote the formation of defects and eventually melting. In active solids, the self-propulsion of “atomic” units provides an additional source of non-equilibrium fluctuations whose effect on the melting scenario is still largely unexplored. Here we show that when a colloidal crystal is activated by a bath of swimming bacteria, solvent temperature and active temperature cooperate to define dynamic and thermodynamic properties. Our system consists of repulsive paramagnetic particles confined in two dimensions and immersed in a bath of light-driven E. coli. The relative balance between fluctuations and interactions can be adjusted in two ways: by changing the strength of the magnetic field and by tuning activity with light. When the persistence time of active fluctuations is short, a single effective temperature controls both the amplitudes of relaxation modes and the melting transition. For more persistent active noise, energy equipartition is broken and multiple temperatures emerge, whereas melting occurs before the Lindemann parameter reaches its equilibrium critical value. We show that this phenomenology is fully confirmed by numerical simulations and framed within a minimal model of a single active particle in a periodic potential.

Suggested Citation

  • Helena Massana-Cid & Claudio Maggi & Nicoletta Gnan & Giacomo Frangipane & Roberto Di Leonardo, 2024. "Multiple temperatures and melting of a colloidal active crystal," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-50937-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50937-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J. Kurchan, 2005. "In and out of equilibrium," Nature, Nature, vol. 433(7023), pages 222-225, January.
    2. Juliane U. Klamser & Sebastian C. Kapfer & Werner Krauth, 2018. "Thermodynamic phases in two-dimensional active matter," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Tzer Han Tan & Alexander Mietke & Junang Li & Yuchao Chen & Hugh Higinbotham & Peter J. Foster & Shreyas Gokhale & Jörn Dunkel & Nikta Fakhri, 2022. "Odd dynamics of living chiral crystals," Nature, Nature, vol. 607(7918), pages 287-293, July.
    4. Sophie Ramananarivo & Etienne Ducrot & Jeremie Palacci, 2019. "Activity-controlled annealing of colloidal monolayers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
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