Simulated three-component granular segregation in a rotating drum

Discrete particle simulations are used to model segregation in granular mixtures of three different particle species in a horizontal rotating drum. Axial band formation is observed, with medium-size particles tending to be located between alternating bands of big and small particles. Partial radial segregation also appears; it precedes the axial segregation and is characterized by an inner core region richer in small particles. Axial bands are seen to merge during the long simulation runs, leading to a coarsening of the band pattern; the relocation of particles involved in one such merging event is examined. Overall, the behavior is similar to experiment and represents a generalization of what occurs in the simpler two-component mixture.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures (low resolution color figures only; originals at author's website http://www.ph.biu.ac.il/~rapaport/research/granular.html) [revised version contains extra figures

Correlations in a two-dimensional Bose gas with long range interactions

We study the correlations of two-dimensional dipolar excitons in coupled quantum wells with a dipole -- dipole repulsive interaction. We show that at low concentrations, the Bose degeneracy of the excitons is accompanied by strong multi-particle correlations and the system behaves as a Bose liquid. At high concentration the particles interaction suppresses quantum coherence and the system behaves similar to a classical liquid down to a temperature lower than typical for a Bose gas. We evaluate the interaction energy per particle and the resulting blue shift of the exciton luminescence that is a direct tool to measure the correlations. This theory can apply to other systems of bosons with extended interaction.Comment: 11 pages including 2 figure

Microscale swimming: The molecular dynamics approach

The self-propelled motion of microscopic bodies immersed in a fluid medium is studied using molecular dynamics simulation. The advantage of the atomistic approach is that the detailed level of description allows complete freedom in specifying the swimmer design and its coupling with the surrounding fluid. A series of two-dimensional swimming bodies employing a variety of propulsion mechanisms -- motivated by biological and microrobotic designs -- is investigated, including the use of moving limbs, changing body shapes and fluid jets. The swimming efficiency and the nature of the induced, time-dependent flow fields are found to differ widely among body designs and propulsion mechanisms.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures (minor changes to text

Velocity fluctuations and hydrodynamic diffusion in sedimentation

We study non-equilibrium velocity fluctuations in a model for the sedimentation of non-Brownian particles experiencing long-range hydrodynamic interactions. The complex behavior of these fluctuations, the outcome of the collective dynamics of the particles, exhibits many of the features observed in sedimentation experiments. In addition, our model predicts a final relaxation to an anisotropic (hydrodynamic) diffusive state that could be observed in experiments performed over longer time ranges.Comment: 7 pages, 5 EPS figures, EPL styl

Stratified horizontal flow in vertically vibrated granular layers

A layer of granular material on a vertically vibrating sawtooth-shaped base exhibits horizontal flow whose speed and direction depend on the parameters specifying the system in a complex manner. Discrete-particle simulations reveal that the induced flow rate varies with height within the granular layer and oppositely directed flows can occur at different levels. The behavior of the overall flow is readily understood once this novel feature is taken into account.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, submitte

Universal scaling dynamics in a perturbed granular gas

We study the response of a granular system at rest to an instantaneous input of energy in a localised region. We present scaling arguments that show that, in $d$ dimensions, the radius of the resulting disturbance increases with time $t$ as $t^{\alpha}$, and the energy decreases as $t^{-\alpha d}$, where the exponent $\alpha=1/(d+1)$ is independent of the coefficient of restitution. We support our arguments with an exact calculation in one dimension and event driven molecular dynamic simulations of hard sphere particles in two and three dimensions.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Using Available Volume to Predict Fluid Diffusivity in Random Media

We propose a simple equation for predicting self-diffusivity of fluids embedded in random matrices of identical, but dynamically frozen, particles (i.e., quenched-annealed systems). The only nontrivial input is the volume available to mobile particles, which also can be predicted for two common matrix types that reflect equilibrium and non-equilibrium fluid structures. The proposed equation can account for the large differences in mobility exhibited by quenched-annealed systems with indistinguishable static pair correlations, illustrating the key role that available volume plays in transport.Comment: to appear in Physical Review E (12 pages, 4 figures

Memory effects on the statistics of fragmentation

We investigate through extensive molecular dynamics simulations the fragmentation process of two-dimensional Lennard-Jones systems. After thermalization, the fragmentation is initiated by a sudden increment to the radial component of the particles' velocities. We study the effect of temperature of the thermalized system as well as the influence of the impact energy of the ``explosion'' event on the statistics of mass fragments. Our results indicate that the cumulative distribution of fragments follows the scaling ansatz $F(m)\propto m^{-\alpha}\exp{[-(m/m_0)^\gamma]}$, where $m$ is the mass, $m_0$ and $\gamma$ are cutoff parameters, and $\alpha$ is a scaling exponent that is dependent on the temperature. More precisely, we show clear evidence that there is a characteristic scaling exponent $\alpha$ for each macroscopic phase of the thermalized system, i.e., that the non-universal behavior of the fragmentation process is dictated by the state of the system before it breaks down.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figure

Pattern Formation in the Inhomogeneous Cooling State of Granular Fluids

We present results from comprehensive event-driven (ED) simulations of nonlinear pattern formation in freely-evolving granular gases. In particular, we focus on the the morphologies of density and velocity fields in the inhomogeneous cooling state (ICS). We emphasize the strong analogy between the ICS morphologies and pattern formation in phase ordering systems with a globally conserved order parameter.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. to appear in Europhys. Let