6533b870fe1ef96bd12cf105

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Discontinuous thinning in active microrheology of soft complex matter

R. WulfertThomas SpeckUdo Seifert

subject

Microrheologychemistry.chemical_classificationPhysicsThinningFOS: Physical sciences02 engineering and technologyPolymerMechanicsCondensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology01 natural sciencesCondensed Matter::Soft Condensed MatterMicroviscositychemistryChemical physics0103 physical sciencesSoft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)010306 general physics0210 nano-technologyOrder of magnitude

description

Employing theory and numerical simulations, we demonstrate discontinuous force thinning due to the driven motion of an external probe in a host medium. We consider two cases: an ideal structureless medium (modeling ultrasoft materials such as polymer melts) and a dilute bath of interacting repulsive particles. When the driving of the probe exceeds a critical force, the microviscosity of the medium drops abruptly by about an order of magnitude. This phenomenon occurs for strong attractive interactions between a large probe and a sufficiently dense host medium.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2016-02-18Physical Review E
https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.94.062610