We study the kinetics of two-temperature induced phase separation in dilute binary mixtures of active (“hot”) and passive (“cold”) particles using molecular dynamics simulations and a coarse-grained hydrodynamic model. Following a temperature quench, cold particles nucleate into mobile clusters that move ballistically and merge through successive coalescence events. The resulting domain growth exhibits dynamic scaling with a growth exponent $\approx 0.7$, markedly faster than diffusive coarsening. We identify this regime as ballistic agglomeration of cold clusters, demonstrating a distinct nonequilibrium growth mechanism in low-density scalar active systems.

Close

PrevNext

View figure in article

• Dynamics of phase separation
• Living matter & active matter
• Hydrodynamic models
• Molecular dynamics