Non-equilibrium properties of an active nanoparticle in a harmonic potential

Falko Schmidt, Hana Šípová-Jungová, Mikael Käll, Alois Würger () and Giovanni Volpe ()
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Falko Schmidt: University of Gothenburg
Hana Šípová-Jungová: Chalmers University of Technology
Mikael Käll: Chalmers University of Technology
Alois Würger: Université de Bordeaux & CNRS
Giovanni Volpe: University of Gothenburg

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Active particles break out of thermodynamic equilibrium thanks to their directed motion, which leads to complex and interesting behaviors in the presence of confining potentials. When dealing with active nanoparticles, however, the overwhelming presence of rotational diffusion hinders directed motion, leading to an increase of their effective temperature, but otherwise masking the effects of self-propulsion. Here, we demonstrate an experimental system where an active nanoparticle immersed in a critical solution and held in an optical harmonic potential features far-from-equilibrium behavior beyond an increase of its effective temperature. When increasing the laser power, we observe a cross-over from a Boltzmann distribution to a non-equilibrium state, where the particle performs fast orbital rotations about the beam axis. These findings are rationalized by solving the Fokker-Planck equation for the particle’s position and orientation in terms of a moment expansion. The proposed self-propulsion mechanism results from the particle’s non-sphericity and the lower critical point of the solution.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22187-z

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