Stationary states of activity-driven harmonic chains.

We study the stationary state of a chain of harmonic oscillators driven by two active reservoirs at the two ends. These reservoirs exert correlated stochastic forces on the boundary oscillators which eventually leads to a nonequilibrium stationary state of the system. We consider three most well-known dynamics for the active force, namely, the active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, run-and-tumble process, and active Brownian process, all of which have exponentially decaying two-point temporal correlations but very different higher-order fluctuations. We show that, irrespective of the specific dynamics of the drive, the stationary velocity fluctuations are Gaussian in nature with a kinetic temperature which remains uniform in the bulk. Moreover, we find the emergence of an "equipartition of energy" in the bulk of the system-the bulk kinetic temperature equals the bulk potential temperature in the thermodynamic limit. We also calculate the stationary distribution of the instantaneous energy current in the bulk which always shows a logarithmic divergence near the origin and asymmetric exponential tails. The signatures of specific active driving become visible in the behavior of the oscillators near the boundary. This is most prominent for the RTP- and ABP-driven chains where the boundary velocity distributions become non-Gaussian and the current distribution has a finite cutoff.

Correction: Direction reversing active Brownian particle in a harmonic potential.

Correction for 'Direction reversing active Brownian particle in a harmonic potential' by Ion Santra et al., Soft Matter, 2021, 17, 10108-10119, https://doi.org/10.1039/D1SM01118A.

Direction reversing active Brownian particle in a harmonic potential.

We study the two-dimensional motion of an active Brownian particle of speed v0, with intermittent directional reversals in the presence of a harmonic trap of strength µ. The presence of the trap ensures that the position of the particle eventually reaches a steady state where it is bounded within a circular region of radius v0/µ, centered at the minimum of the trap. Due to the interplay between the rotational diffusion constant DR, reversal rate γ, and the trap strength µ, the steady state distribution shows four different types of shapes, which we refer to as active-I & II, and passive-I & II phases. In the active-I phase, the weight of the distribution is concentrated along an annular region close to the circular boundary, whereas in active-II, an additional central diverging peak appears giving rise to a Mexican hat-like shape of the distribution. The passive-I is marked by a single Boltzmann-like centrally peaked distribution in the large DR limit. On the other hand, while the passive-II phase also shows a single central peak, it is distinguished from passive-I by a non-Boltzmann like divergence near the origin. We characterize these phases by calculating the exact analytical forms of the distributions in various limiting cases. In particular, we show that for DR ≪ γ, the shape transition of the two-dimensional position distribution from active-II to passive-II occurs at µ = γ. We compliment these analytical results with numerical simulations beyond the limiting cases and obtain a qualitative phase diagram in the (DR, γ, µ-1) space.

Active Brownian motion with directional reversals.

Active Brownian motion with intermittent direction reversals is common in bacteria like Myxococcus xanthus and Pseudomonas putida. We show that, for such a motion in two dimensions, the presence of the two timescales set by the rotational diffusion constant D_{R} and the reversal rate γ gives rise to four distinct dynamical regimes: (I) t≪min(γ^{-1},D_{R}^{-1}), (II) γ^{-1}≪t≪D_{R}^{-1}, (III) D_{R}^{-1}≪t≪γ^{-1}, and (IV) t≫max(γ^{-1}, D_{R}^{-1}), showing distinct behaviors. We characterize these behaviors by analytically computing the position distribution and persistence exponents. The position distribution shows a crossover from a strongly nondiffusive and anisotropic behavior at short times to a diffusive isotropic behavior via an intermediate regime, II or III. In regime II, we show that, the position distribution along the direction orthogonal to the initial orientation is a function of the scaled variable z∝x_{⊥}/t with a nontrivial scaling function, f(z)=(2π^{3})^{-1/2}Γ(1/4+iz)Γ(1/4-iz). Furthermore, by computing the exact first-passage time distribution, we show that a persistence exponent α=1 emerges due to the direction reversal in this regime.

Active Brownian motion in two dimensions under stochastic resetting.

We study the position distribution of an active Brownian particle (ABP) in the presence of stochastic resetting in two spatial dimensions. We consider three different resetting protocols: (1) where both position and orientation of the particle are reset, (2) where only the position is reset, and (3) where only the orientation is reset with a certain rate r. We show that in the first two cases, the ABP reaches a stationary state. Using a renewal approach, we calculate exactly the stationary marginal position distributions in the limiting cases when the resetting rate r is much larger or much smaller than the rotational diffusion constant D_{R} of the ABP. We find that, in some cases, for a large resetting rate, the position distribution diverges near the resetting point; the nature of the divergence depends on the specific protocol. For the orientation resetting, there is no stationary state, but the motion changes from a ballistic one at short times to a diffusive one at late times. We characterize the short-time non-Gaussian marginal position distributions using a perturbative approach.

Active velocity processes with suprathermal stationary distributions and long-time tails.

When a particle moves through a spatially random force field, its momentum may change at a rate which grows with its speed. Suppose moreover that a thermal bath provides friction which gets weaker for large speeds, enabling high-energy localization. The result is a unifying framework for the emergence of heavy tails in the velocity distribution, relevant for understanding the power-law decay in the electron velocity distribution of space plasma or more generally for explaining non-Maxwellian behavior of driven gases. We also find long-time tails in the velocity autocorrelation, indicating persistence at large speeds for a wide range of parameters and implying superdiffusion of the position variable.

Run-and-tumble particles in two dimensions: Marginal position distributions.

We study a set of run-and-tumble particle (RTP) dynamics in two spatial dimensions. In the first case of the orientation θ of the particle can assume a set of n possible discrete values, while in the second case θ is a continuous variable. We calculate exactly the marginal position distributions for n=3,4 and the continuous case and show that in all cases the RTP shows a crossover from a ballistic to diffusive regime. The ballistic regime is a typical signature of the active nature of the systems and is characterized by nontrivial position distributions which depend on the specific model. We also show that the signature of activity at long times can be found in the atypical fluctuations, which we also characterize by computing the large deviation functions explicitly.

Symmetric exclusion process under stochastic resetting.

We study the behavior of a symmetric exclusion process (SEP) in the presence of stochastic resetting where the configuration of the system is reset to a steplike profile with a fixed rate r. We show that the presence of resetting affects both the stationary and dynamical properties of SEPs strongly. We compute the exact time-dependent density profile and show that the stationary state is characterized by a nontrivial inhomogeneous profile in contrast to the flat one for r=0. We also show that for r>0 the average diffusive current grows linearly with time t, in stark contrast to the sqrt[t] growth for r=0. In addition to the underlying diffusive current, we identify the resetting current in the system which emerges due to the sudden relocation of the particles to the steplike configuration and is strongly correlated to the diffusive current. We show that the average resetting current is negative, but its magnitude also grows linearly with time t. We also compute the probability distributions of the diffusive current, resetting current, and total current (sum of the diffusive and the resetting currents) using the renewal approach. We demonstrate that while the typical fluctuations of both the diffusive and reset currents around the mean are typically Gaussian, the distribution of the total current shows a strong non-Gaussian behavior.

Long-time position distribution of an active Brownian particle in two dimensions.

We study the late-time dynamics of a single active Brownian particle in two dimensions with speed v_{0} and rotation diffusion constant D_{R}. We show that at late times t≫D_{R}^{-1}, while the position probability distribution P(x,y,t) in the x-y plane approaches a Gaussian form near its peak describing the typical diffusive fluctuations, it has non-Gaussian tails describing atypical rare fluctuations when sqrt[x^{2}+y^{2}]∼v_{0}t. In this regime, the distribution admits a large deviation form, P(x,y,t)∼exp{-tD_{R}Φ[sqrt[x^{2}+y^{2}]/(v_{0}t)]}, where we compute the rate function Φ(z) analytically and also numerically using an importance sampling method. We show that the rate function Φ(z), encoding the rare fluctuations, still carries the trace of activity even at late times. Another way of detecting activity at late times is to subject the active particle to an external harmonic potential. In this case we show that the stationary distribution P_{stat}(x,y) depends explicitly on the activity parameter D_{R}^{-1} and undergoes a crossover, as D_{R} increases, from a ring shape in the strongly active limit (D_{R}→0) to a Gaussian shape in the strongly passive limit (D_{R}→∞).

Negative differential mobility in interacting particle systems.

Driven particles in the presence of crowded environment, obstacles, or kinetic constraints often exhibit negative differential mobility (NDM) due to their decreased dynamical activity. Based on the empirical studies of conserved lattice gas model, two species exclusion model and other interacting particle systems we propose a new mechanism for complex many-particle systems where slowing down of certain non-driven degrees of freedom by the external field can give rise to NDM. To prove that the slowing down of the non-driven degrees is indeed the underlying cause, we consider several driven diffusive systems including two species exclusion models, misanthrope process, and show from the exact steady state results that NDM indeed appears when some non-driven modes are slowed down deliberately. For clarity, we also provide a simple pedagogical example of two interacting random walkers on a ring which conforms to the proposed scenario.

Extrapolation to Nonequilibrium from Coarse-Grained Response Theory.

Nonlinear response theory, in contrast to linear cases, involves (dynamical) details, and this makes application to many-body systems challenging. From the microscopic starting point we obtain an exact response theory for a small number of coarse-grained degrees of freedom. With it, an extrapolation scheme uses near-equilibrium measurements to predict far-from-equilibrium properties (here, second order responses). Because it does not involve system details, this approach can be applied to many-body systems. It is illustrated in a four-state model and in the near critical Ising model.

Short-Time Behavior and Criticality of Driven Lattice Gases.

The nonequilibrium short-time critical behaviors of driven and undriven lattice gases are investigated via Monte Carlo simulations in two spatial dimensions starting from a fully disordered initial configuration. In particular, we study the time evolution of suitably defined order parameters, which account for the strong anisotropy introduced by the homogeneous drive. We demonstrate that, at short times, the dynamics of all these models is unexpectedly described by an effective continuum theory in which transverse fluctuations, i.e., fluctuations averaged along the drive, are Gaussian, irrespective of this being actually the case in the stationary state. Strong numerical evidence is provided, in remarkable agreement with that theory, both for the driven and undriven lattice gases, which therefore turn out to display the same short-time dynamics.

Universal Gaussian behavior of driven lattice gases at short times.

The dynamic and static critical behaviors of driven and equilibrium lattice gas models are studied in two spatial dimensions. We show that in the short-time regime immediately following a critical quench, the dynamics of the transverse anisotropic order parameter, its autocorrelation, and Binder cumulant are consistent with the prediction of a Gaussian, i.e., noninteracting, effective theory, both for the nonequilibrium lattice gases and, to some extent, their equilibrium counterpart. Such a superuniversal behavior is observed only at short times after a critical quench, while the various models display their distinct behaviors in the stationary states, described by the corresponding, known universality classes.

Phase separation transition in a nonconserved two-species model.

A one-dimensional stochastic exclusion process with two species of particles, + and -, is studied where density of each species can fluctuate but the total particle density is conserved. From the exact stationary state weights we show that, in the limiting case where density of negative particles vanishes, the system undergoes a phase separation transition where a macroscopic domain of vacancies form in front of a single surviving negative particle. We also show that the phase-separated state is associated with a diverging correlation length for any density and that the critical exponents characterizing the behavior in this region are different from those at the transition line. The static and the dynamical critical exponents are obtained from the exact solution and numerical simulations, respectively.

How Statistical Forces Depend on the Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Driven Media.

We study the statistical force of a nonequilibrium environment on a quasistatic probe. In the linear regime, the isothermal work on the probe equals the excess work for the medium to relax to its new steady condition with a displaced probe. Also, the relative importance of reaction paths can be measured via statistical forces, and from second order onwards the force on the probe reveals information about nonequilibrium changes in the reactivity of the medium. We also show that statistical forces for nonequilibrium media are generally nonadditive, in contrast with the equilibrium situation. Both the presence of nonthermodynamic corrections to the forces and their nonadditivity put serious constraints on any formulation of nonequilibrium steady state thermodynamics.

Frenetic aspects of second order response.

Starting from the second order around thermal equilibrium, the response of a statistical mechanical system to an external stimulus is not only governed by dissipation and depends explicitly on dynamical details of the system. The so called frenetic contribution in the second order around equilibrium is illustrated in different physical examples, such as for non-thermodynamic aspects in the coupling between a system and reservoir, for the dependence on disorder in the dielectric response and for the nonlinear correction to the Sutherland-Einstein relation. More generally, the way in which a system's dynamical activity changes by perturbation is visible (only) from the nonlinear response.

Frenetic origin of negative differential response.

The Green-Kubo formula for linear response coefficients is modified when dealing with nonequilibrium dynamics. In particular, negative differential conductivities are allowed to exist away from equilibrium. We give a unifying framework for such a negative differential response in terms of the frenetic contribution in the nonequilibrium formula. It corresponds to a negative dependence of the escape rates and reactivities on the driving forces. Partial caging in state space and reduction of dynamical activity with increased driving cause the current to drop. These are time-symmetric kinetic effects that are believed to play a major role in the study of nonequilibria. We give various simple examples treating particle and energy transport, which all follow the same pattern in the dependence of the dynamical activity on the nonequilibrium driving, made visible from recently derived nonequilibrium response theory.

Fixed-energy sandpiles belong generically to directed percolation.

Fixed-energy sandpiles with stochastic update rules are known to exhibit a nonequilibrium phase transition from an active phase into infinitely many absorbing states. Examples include the conserved Manna model, the conserved lattice gas, and the conserved threshold transfer process. It is believed that the transitions in these models belong to an autonomous universality class of nonequilibrium phase transitions, the so-called Manna class. Contrarily, the present numerical study of selected (1+1)-dimensional models in this class suggests that their critical behavior converges to directed percolation after very long time, questioning the existence of an independent Manna class.

Driven k-mers: correlations in space and time.

Steady-state properties of hard objects with exclusion interaction and a driven motion along a one-dimensional periodic lattice are investigated. The process is a generalization of the asymmetric simple exclusion process (ASEP) to particles of length k, and is called the k-ASEP. Here, we analyze both static and dynamic properties of the k-ASEP. Density correlations are found to display interesting features, such as pronounced oscillations in both space and time, as a consequence of the extended length of the particles. At long times, the density autocorrelation decays exponentially in time, except at a special k-dependent density when it decays as a power law. In the limit of large k at a finite density of occupied sites, the appropriately scaled system reduces to a nonequilibrium generalization of the Tonks gas describing the motion of hard rods along a continuous line. This allows us to obtain in a simple way the known two-particle distribution for the Tonks gas. For large but finite k, we also obtain the leading-order correction to the Tonks result.

Threshold-induced phase transition in kinetic exchange models.

We study an ideal-gas-like model where the particles exchange energy stochastically, through energy-conserving scattering processes, which take place if and only if at least one of the two particles has energy below a certain energy threshold (interactions are initiated by such low-energy particles). This model has an intriguing phase transition in the sense that there is a critical value of the energy threshold below which the number of particles in the steady state goes to zero, and above which the average number of particles in the steady state is nonzero. This phase transition is associated with standard features like "critical slowing down" and nontrivial values of some critical exponents characterizing the variation of thermodynamic quantities near the threshold energy. The features are exhibited not only in the mean-field version but also in the lattice versions.