A dynamic renormalization group study of active nematics

Mishra, Shradha and Simha, R Aditi and Ramaswamy, Sriram (2010) A dynamic renormalization group study of active nematics. In: Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment .

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Abstract

We carry out a systematic construction of the coarse-grained dynamical equation of motion for the orientational order parameter for a two-dimensional active nematic, that is a nonequilibrium steady state with uniaxial, apolar orientational order. Using the dynamical renormalization group, we show that the leading nonlinearities in this equation are marginally irrelevant. We discover a special limit of parameters in which the equation of motion for the angle field bears a close relation to the 2d stochastic Burgers equation. We find nevertheless that, unlike for the Burgers problem, the nonlinearity is marginally irrelevant even in this special limit, as a result of a hidden fluctuation-dissipation relation. 2d active nematics therefore have quasi-long-range order, just like their equilibrium counterparts.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Institute of Physics.
Keywords:	granular matter; active membranes; self-propelled particles; passive and active self-assembly
Department/Centre:	Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Physics
Date Deposited:	29 Mar 2010 10:41
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:57
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ernet.in/id/eprint/26229

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