The order-disorder transition in incompressible polar active fluids with an easy axis
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Chen, Leiming
Lee, Chiu Fan
Toner, John
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Dry active matter in an anisotropic medium is of experimental relevance, and the interplay between anisotropy and the dynamics of the active matter remains under-explored. Here, we derive the hydrodynamic equations of a generic dry polar active fluid that preferentially flows along a particular axis induced by the anisotropy of the medium. We then study its critical behavior at the order-disorder transition in which the symmetry between “forward” and “back” along the special axis is spontaneously broken. We obtain the critical static and dynamic exponents, mean velocity, and two point correlation functions exactly in three dimensions, and to two-loop level in two dimensions, by mapping our class of systems to the equilibrium Ising model with dipolar interactions.
Date Acceptance
2026-04-24
Citation
Physical Review E: Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
ISSN
1539-3755
Publisher
American Physical Society
Journal / Book Title
Physical Review E: Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
Copyright Statement
Copyright This paper is embargoed until publication. Once published the author’s accepted manuscript will be made available under a CC-BY License in accordance with Imperial’s Research Publications Open Access policy (www.imperial.ac.uk/oa-policy).
License URL
Publication Status
Accepted