Theory of the collective nonequilibrium dynamics of active colloidal particles

本研究项目的目的是在适当推广微观经典动力学密度泛函理论的基础上，研究活性胶体粒子的集体非平衡动力学。这种活性粒子包括相互作用的人造微泳者和游泳微生物。它们的悬浮液表现出令人着迷的非平衡现象，比如几乎完全失去了粘度，这是被动粒子的悬浮液所不知道的，也是还没有被微观理论解释的。由于其特殊的动力学行为，活性颗粒悬浮液具有独特的机械性能，如活性硬化，这使得在材料科学和技术加工中有许多特殊的应用。因此，该项目的结果不仅对统计物理学，而且对技术和生物学都很重要。该项目将在爱丁堡大学迈克尔·E·凯茨教授的团队中进行。

The aim of this research project is the investigation of the collective nonequilibrium dynamics of active, i.e., self-propelled, colloidal particles on the basis of a suitable generalisation of microscopic classical dynamical density functional theory. Such active particles include interacting artificial microswimmers and swimming microorganisms. Their suspensions exhibit fascinating nonequilibrium phenomena like an almost complete loss of viscosity that are not known from suspensions of passive particles and that have not yet been explained by a microscopic theory. Due to their exceptional dynamical behaviour, suspensions of active particles have unique mechanical properties like active stiffening that allow for a number of special applications in materials science and technological processing. The results of this project are thus important not only for statistical physics, but also for technology and biology. The project will be carried out in the group of Prof. Dr. Michael E. Cates at the University of Edinburgh.