Light-driven separation in mixed particles with small activity differences

Weirong Zhong

Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 2026, vol. 210, issue P2

Abstract: Phototaxis is a physical property exhibited by some active matter. A number of experimental studies have shown that under light induction, such active matter can generate an alignment response to the gradient of the light field. Based on this property of active matter, we introduce the alignment coupling interaction between active particles and the light field into the Langevin equation. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate a two-dimensional mixed system composed of two types of active particles with different driving forces. The results show that phase separation between the two types of active particles occurs when the light coupling strength is sufficiently high. This separation process is regulated by particle concentration and light spot size, and there exist optimal system concentration and light spot size that maximize the segregation degree. Both low translational friction coefficient and high rotational friction coefficient are unfavorable to separation. There exists an optimal system temperature that yields the highest segregation degree. The segregation degree remains unaffected even in the presence of activity fluctuations between the two types of active particles. Furthermore, this paper elucidates the physical mechanism underlying the light-induced separation of mixed systems from the perspective that active particles with different activities exhibit distinct sensitivities to light response.

Keywords: Active matter; Collective behavior; Non-equilibrium statistical physics; Light; Seperation; Molecular dynamics simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chsofr:v:210:y:2026:i:p2:s0960077926008337

DOI: 10.1016/j.chaos.2026.118692

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