Memory-induced motion reversal in Brownian liquids

Perspective: How to overcome dynamical density functional theory

We argue in favour of developing a comprehensive dynamical theory for rationalizing, predicting, designing, and machine learning nonequilibrium phenomena that occur in soft matter. To give guidance for navigating the theoretical and practical challenges that lie ahead, we discuss and exemplify the limitations of dynamical density functional theory (DDFT). Instead of the implied adiabatic sequence of equilibrium states that this approach provides as a makeshift for the true time evolution, we posit that the pending theoretical tasks lie in developing a systematic understanding of the dynamical functional relationships that govern the genuine nonequilibrium physics. While static density functional theory gives a comprehensive account of the equilibrium properties of many-body systems, we argue that power functional theory is the only present contender to shed similar insights into nonequilibrium dynamics, including the recognition and implementation of exact sum rules that result from the Noether theorem. As a demonstration of the power functional point of view, we consider an idealized steady sedimentation flow of the three-dimensional Lennard-Jones fluid and machine-learn the kinematic map from the mean motion to the internal force field. The trained model is capable of both predicting and designing the steady state dynamics universally for various target density modulations. This demonstrates the significant potential of using such techniques in nonequilibrium many-body physics and overcomes both the conceptual constraints of DDFT as well as the limited availability of its analytical functional approximations.

Comparative study of force-based classical density functional theory

We reexamine results obtained with the recently proposed density functional theory framework based on forces (force-DFT) [S. M. Tschopp et al., Phys. Rev. E 106, 014115 (2022)2470-004510.1103/PhysRevE.106.014115]. We compare inhomogeneous density profiles for hard sphere fluids to results from both standard density functional theory and from computer simulations. Test situations include the equilibrium hard sphere fluid adsorbed against a planar hard wall and the dynamical relaxation of hard spheres in a switched harmonic potential. The comparison to grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation profiles shows that equilibrium force-DFT alone does not improve upon results obtained with the standard Rosenfeld functional. Similar behavior holds for the relaxation dynamics, where we use our event-driven Brownian dynamics data as benchmark. Based on an appropriate linear combination of standard and force-DFT results, we investigate a simple hybrid scheme which rectifies these deficiencies in both the equilibrium and the dynamical case. We explicitly demonstrate that although the hybrid method is based on the original Rosenfeld fundamental measure functional, its performance is comparable to that of the more advanced White Bear theory.

Inhomogeneous steady shear dynamics of a three-body colloidal gel former

We investigate the stationary flow of a colloidal gel under an inhomogeneous external shear force using adaptive Brownian dynamics simulations. The interparticle forces are derived from the Stillinger-Weber potential, where the three-body term is tuned to enable network formation and gelation in equilibrium. When subjected to the shear force field, the system develops remarkable modulations in the one-body density profile. Depending on the shear magnitude, particles accumulate either in quiescent regions or in the vicinity of maximum net flow, and we deduce this strong non-equilibrium response to be characteristic of the gel state. Studying the components of the internal force parallel and perpendicular to the flow direction reveals that the emerging flow and structure of the stationary state are driven by significant viscous and structural superadiabatic forces. Thereby, the magnitude and nature of the observed non-equilibrium phenomena differ from the corresponding behavior of simple fluids. We demonstrate that a simple power functional theory reproduces accurately the viscous force profile, giving a rationale of the complex dynamical behavior of the system.

Perspective: New directions in dynamical density functional theory

Classical dynamical density functional theory (DDFT) has become one of the central modeling approaches in nonequilibrium soft matter physics. Recent years have seen the emergence of novel and interesting fields of application for DDFT. In particular, there has been a remarkable growth in the amount of work related to chemistry. Moreover, DDFT has stimulated research on other theories such as phase field crystal models and power functional theory. In this perspective, we summarize the latest developments in the field of DDFT and discuss a variety of possible directions for future research.

Force density functional theory in- and out-of-equilibrium

When a fluid is subject to an external field, as is the case near an interface or under spatial confinement, then the density becomes spatially inhomogeneous. Although the one-body density provides much useful information, a higher level of resolution is provided by the two-body correlations. These give a statistical description of the internal microstructure of the fluid and enable calculation of the average interparticle force, which plays an essential role in determining both the equilibrium and dynamic properties of interacting fluids. We present a theoretical framework for the description of inhomogeneous (classical) many-body systems, based explicitly on the two-body correlation functions. By consideration of local Noether-invariance against spatial distortion of the system we demonstrate the fundamental status of the Yvon-Born-Green (YBG) equation as a local force-balance within the fluid. Using the inhomogeneous Ornstein-Zernike equation we show that the two-body correlations are density functionals and, thus, that the average interparticle force entering the YBG equation is also a functional of the one-body density. The force-based theory we develop provides an alternative to standard density functional theory for the study of inhomogeneous systems both in- and out-of-equilibrium. We compare force-based density profiles to the results of the standard potential-based (dynamical) density functional theory. In-equilibrium, we confirm both analytically and numerically that the standard approach yields profiles that are consistent with the compressibility pressure, whereas the force-density functional gives profiles consistent with the virial pressure. For both approaches we explicitly prove the hard-wall contact theorem that connects the value of the density profile at the hard-wall with the bulk pressure. The structure of the theory offers deep insights into the nature of correlation in dense and inhomogeneous systems.

Why Noether's theorem applies to statistical mechanics

Noether's theorem is familiar to most physicists due its fundamental role in linking the existence of conservation laws to the underlying symmetries of a physical system. Typically the systems are described in the particle-based context of classical mechanics or on the basis of field theory. We have recently shown (2021Commun. Phys.4176) that Noether's reasoning also applies to thermal systems, where fluctuations are paramount and one aims for a statistical mechanical description. Here we give a pedagogical introduction based on the canonical ensemble and apply it explicitly to ideal sedimentation. The relevant mathematical objects, such as the free energy, are viewed as functionals. This vantage point allows for systematic functional differentiation and the resulting identities express properties of both macroscopic average forces and molecularly resolved correlations in many-body systems, both in and out-of-equilibrium, and for active Brownian particles. To provide further background, we briefly describe the variational principles of classical density functional theory, of power functional theory, and of classical mechanics.

The five problems of irreversibility

Thermodynamics has a clear arrow of time, characterized by the irreversible approach to equilibrium. This stands in contrast to the laws of microscopic theories, which are invariant under time-reversal. Foundational discussions of this "problem of irreversibility" often focus on historical considerations, and do therefore not take results of modern physical research on this topic into account. In this article, I will close this gap by studying the implications of dynamical density functional theory (DDFT), a central method of modern nonequilibrium statistical mechanics not previously considered in philosophy of physics, for this debate. For this purpose, the philosophical discussion of irreversibility is structured into five problems, concerned with the source of irreversibility in thermodynamics, the definition of equilibrium and entropy, the justification of coarse-graining, the approach to equilibrium and the arrow of time. For each of these problems, it is shown that DDFT provides novel insights that are of importance for both physicists and philosophers of physics.

Universality in Driven and Equilibrium Hard Sphere Liquid Dynamics

We demonstrate that the time evolution of the van Hove dynamical pair correlation function is governed by adiabatic forces that arise from the free energy and by superadiabatic forces that are induced by the flow of the van Hove function. The superadiabatic forces consist of drag, viscous, and structural contributions, as occur in active Brownian particles, in liquids under shear and in lane forming mixtures. For hard sphere liquids, we present a power functional theory that predicts these universal force fields in quantitative agreement with our Brownian dynamics simulation results.

Shear-induced deconfinement of hard disks

Using Brownian dynamics simulations, we investigate the response to shear of a two-dimensional system of quasi-hard disks that are confined in the velocity gradient direction by a smooth external potential. Shearing the confined system leads to a homogenization of the one-body density profile. In order to rationalize this deconfinement effect, we split the internal one-body force field into adiabatic and superadiabatic contributions. We demonstrate that the superadiabatic force field consists of viscous and of structural contributions. We give an empirical scaling law that yields results for the superadiabatic force profiles both in the flow and in the gradient direction, in excellent agreement with the simulation data.