Active and driven granular matter are examples of heterogeneous systems that can respond spatiotemporally in a multitude of non-trivial ways. They can experience non-equilibrium phase transitions, avalanches and intermittent dynamics, fluctuating dynamics, and short and long-range correlations. The properties and dynamics of these systems can depend on both the geometry and topology of their environment and constituent particles, on the packing fraction, on the presence of external forces acting on the system as a whole or on any of its bounding surfaces, on internal energy sources and on inter-particle interaction forces.
Despite the different mechanism for energy input - at the individual particle level versus globally - both active granular and driven granular materials exhibit common features, including large density fluctuations, emergence of behavior, descriptions based on effective temperatures, and long-range correlations. The goal of this Research Topic is to bring together experts coming from both ends to share their knowledge and expertise to try and identify key features and ingredients to understand the physics behind these systems.
This Research Topic aims to be a meeting point for anybody working with active and driven granular matter, doing either experiment, simulation, or theory. Topics and systems of interest include biological and synthetic (for instance robotic) collectives, grains in external fields, mechanical properties, fluctuations and avalanches, wave propagation, and dynamical behavior. The plan is to bring together experts within soft and granular matter, active matter, and non-linear dynamics, to share their knowledge and expertise with the goal of identifying the key features and ingredients that control the physics behind the behavior of these systems.
Active and driven granular matter are examples of heterogeneous systems that can respond spatiotemporally in a multitude of non-trivial ways. They can experience non-equilibrium phase transitions, avalanches and intermittent dynamics, fluctuating dynamics, and short and long-range correlations. The properties and dynamics of these systems can depend on both the geometry and topology of their environment and constituent particles, on the packing fraction, on the presence of external forces acting on the system as a whole or on any of its bounding surfaces, on internal energy sources and on inter-particle interaction forces.
Despite the different mechanism for energy input - at the individual particle level versus globally - both active granular and driven granular materials exhibit common features, including large density fluctuations, emergence of behavior, descriptions based on effective temperatures, and long-range correlations. The goal of this Research Topic is to bring together experts coming from both ends to share their knowledge and expertise to try and identify key features and ingredients to understand the physics behind these systems.
This Research Topic aims to be a meeting point for anybody working with active and driven granular matter, doing either experiment, simulation, or theory. Topics and systems of interest include biological and synthetic (for instance robotic) collectives, grains in external fields, mechanical properties, fluctuations and avalanches, wave propagation, and dynamical behavior. The plan is to bring together experts within soft and granular matter, active matter, and non-linear dynamics, to share their knowledge and expertise with the goal of identifying the key features and ingredients that control the physics behind the behavior of these systems.
