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  • Open Access

Restitution coefficient dependence of the pressure of a macroscopic active particle

Neta Ben Ari* and Saar Rahav†

  • *Contact author: b.neta@campus.technion.ac.il
  • †Contact author: rahavs@ch.technion.ac.il
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043154 – Published 12 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qgcg-8cxf

Abstract

Active matter systems serve as a paradigm for diverse nonequilibrium phenomena. Macroscopic realizations of active particles may exhibit inelastic collisions. We study the restitution coefficient dependence of the pressure exerted by a single bristlebot, a type of macroscopic driven particle with hopping dynamics. The finite hopping time allows for low- and high-drag parameter regimes. For low drag, the bristlebot pushes the wall with a momentum transfer rate İ that satisfies İ≃F, where F is the active force, in agreement with results for soft (elastic) walls. In the high-drag regime, we find İ∝(1+r)F, showing dependence on the coefficient of restitution r. This behavior can be understood analytically by studying the periodic solutions of a simple one-dimensional model. Numerical simulations show that the transition between two regimes also exists for highly active two-dimensional particles.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043154– Published 12 November, 2025
  • Received 24 July 2025
  • Accepted 12 October 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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