https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/s10051-025-00864-y
Regular Article - Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Orientation of active particles in gradient fields
1
Department of Physics, College of Physics & Optoelectronic Engineering, Jinan University, 510632, Guangzhou, China
2
School of Physics and Materials Science, Guangzhou University, 510006, Guangzhou, China
Received:
24
September
2024
Accepted:
13
January
2025
Published online:
6
March
2025
We used non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the effects of the orientation of dumbbell-shaped active particles. Self-driven dumbbell particles are situated between two particle reservoirs connected by a channel. By setting different environmental temperatures or particle concentrations in the two reservoirs, a non-equilibrium state with a temperature or concentration gradient is induced in the channel. It is found that the magnitude of the orientation of the active particles is directly proportional to the strength of the gradient field. The direction of the orientation is in line with the temperature gradient but opposite to the concentration gradient. Moreover, the orientation of active particles is also proportional to the self-propulsion force, while Brownian particles do not exhibit any orientation. The length of the dumbbell particle also has an impact on its orientation. When the spacing is zero, resulting in circular active particles, the orientational effect disappears. Additionally, we explored the potential limitations of traditional statistical mechanics methods in self-propelled particle systems. Our research contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between self-propulsion forces and the orientation of active particles.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, SIF and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
