An introduction to the physics of active matter

G. De Magistris, D. Marenduzzo*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

In these notes we provide an introductory description of the physics of active matter, focusing on theoretical aspects, and on some methods which are often used in the field. We discuss a selection of active systems, where activity comes from different microscopic sources (mainly self-replication, self-propulsion, non-thermal forces), and in all cases we focus on their statistical physics and emergent collective behaviour, which is often linked to underlying nonequilibrium phase transitions. We hope to convey the idea that this field is a fascinating growing area of research at the interphase between statistical, soft matter and biological physics, and that active matter systems can possess, in general, a much richer physics than their passive counterparts. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)65-77
Number of pages13
JournalPhysica a-Statistical mechanics and its applications
Volume418
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jan 2015

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Active matter
  • Nonequilibrium physics
  • SELF-PROPELLED PARTICLES
  • PHASE-SEPARATION
  • COLLECTIVE MOTION
  • GENERIC ROUTE
  • VICSEK MODEL
  • HYDRODYNAMICS
  • SEDIMENTATION
  • SUSPENSIONS
  • TRANSITION
  • MECHANICS

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