• Open Access

Long-Range Nematic Order in Two-Dimensional Active Matter

Benoît Mahault and Hugues Chaté
Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 048003 – Published 23 July 2021
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Abstract

Working in two space dimensions, we show that the orientational order emerging from self-propelled polar particles aligning nematically is quasi-long-ranged beyond r, the scale associated to induced velocity reversals, which is typically extremely large and often cannot even be measured. Below r, nematic order is long-range. We construct and study a hydrodynamic theory for this de facto phase and show that its structure and symmetries differ from conventional descriptions of active nematics. We check numerically our theoretical predictions, in particular the presence of π-symmetric propagative sound modes, and provide estimates of all scaling exponents governing long-range space-time correlations.

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  • Received 16 April 2021
  • Accepted 14 June 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.048003

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Open access publication funded by the Max Planck Society.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Statistical Physics & ThermodynamicsPolymers & Soft Matter

Authors & Affiliations

Benoît Mahault1 and Hugues Chaté2,3

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), 37077 Göttingen, Germany
  • 2Service de Physique de l’Etat Condensé, CEA, CNRS Université Paris-Saclay, CEA-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  • 3Computational Science Research Center, Beijing 100193, China

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Issue

Vol. 127, Iss. 4 — 23 July 2021

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