Seminário extra 07/12/2022: Active Phase Separations

Active matter, composed of self-propelling entities, is found across scales in nature, from cellular tissues to animal groups. Such systems, as well as engineered active materials, exhibit a broad range of complex collective behaviors.

At the level of our theoretical descriptions, many of them can be understood as phase separations. I will discuss two prominent examples: motility-induced phase separation and the transition to collective motion. In both cases, the simplest theoretical descriptions show a rather conventional phase separation while refined theories lead to novel behaviors and highlight the importance of fluctuations.