Nonequilibrium phase transitions in active contractile polar filaments
Abstract
We study the patterning and fluctuations of a collection of active contractile polar filaments on a two dimensional substrate, using a continuum description in the presence of athermal noise, parameterised by an active temperature
T
A
. The steady states generically consist of arrays of inward pointing asters and show a continuous transition from a moving aster street to a stationary aster lattice. In contrast to its equilibrium counterpart, this active crystal shows true long range order at low
T
A
. On increasing
T
A
, the asters remodel with a distribution of lifetimes; concomitantly we find novel phase transitions characterised by polar and bond-orientational order.