Segregation in a noninteracting binary mixture

Filip Krzyżewski and Magdalena A. Załuska-Kotur

Process of stripe formation is analyzed numerically in a binary mixture. The system consists of particles of two sizes, without any direct mutual interactions. Overlapping of large particles, surrounded by a dense system of small particles, induces indirect entropy driven interactions between large particles. Under an influence of an external driving force the system orders and stripes are formed. Mean width of stripes grows logarithmically with time, in contrast to a typical power law temporal increase observed for driven interacting lattice gas systems. We describe the mechanism responsible for this behavior and attribute the logarithmic growth to a random walk of large particles in a random potential created by the site blocking due to the small ones.

Phys. Rev. E 77, 031502 (2008)