Superdiffusion and Antidiffusion in an Aligned Active Suspension
Abstract
We show theoretically that an imposed uniaxial anisotropy leads to new universality classes for the dynamics of active particles suspended in a viscous fluid. In the homogeneous state, their concentration relaxes superdiffusively, stirred by the long-ranged flows generated by its own fluctuations, as confirmed by our numerical simulations. Increasing activity leads to an anisotropic diffusive instability, and thus an original phase-separation mechanism, driven by the interplay of active stresses with a particle current proportional to the local curvature of the suspension velocity profile.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Advanced Theoretical and Applied Studies in Material Sciences and Geometry
Rheology and Fluid Dynamics Studies
Adsorption
diffusion
and thermodynamic properties of materials
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physical Review Letters
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Volume
- 136
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 128302–128302
- Publication date
- 5 March 2026
- Language
- EN