Dynamical density functional theory for colloidal particles with arbitrary shape

Raphael Wittkowski (1) , Hartmut Loewen (1)

1 Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf = Heinrich Heine University [Düsseldorf]

Starting from the many-particle Smoluchowski equation, we derive dynamical density functional theory for Brownian particles with an arbitrary shape. Both passive and active (self-propelled) particles are considered. The resulting theory constitutes a microscopic framework to explore the collective dynamical behaviour of biaxial particles in nonequilibrium. For spherical and uniaxial particles, earlier derived dynamical density functional theories are recovered as special cases. Our study is motivated by recent experimental progress in preparing colloidal particles with many different biaxial shapes.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

Domaines: Matière Condensée [cond-mat]

Raphael Wittkowski, Hartmut Loewen. Dynamical density functional theory for colloidal particles with arbitrary shape. Molecular Physics, 2011, pp.1. ⟨10.1080/00268976.2011.609145⟩. ⟨hal-00732532⟩