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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 52: Statistical Physics of Biological Systems II (joint session BP/DY)

DY 52.2: Talk

Friday, March 31, 2023, 09:45–10:00, BAR Schö

Kinetics of droplet sizes in non-conserved emulsions — •Jacqueline Janssen¹, Frank Jülicher¹, and Christoph A. Weber² — ¹Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems — ²University of Augsburg

Droplets form via phase separation and coexist with a dilute phase that is composed of droplet material of lower concentration. Many droplets in an emulsion undergo coarsening to the thermal equilibrium state that corresponds to a single droplet in a finite system. In passive emulsions, where the total amount of droplet material is conserved, the average radius grows as a function t^1/3 in time, and the droplet size distribution function broadens. Here we consider emulsions for which the total droplet material is not conserved, e.g. material is supplied by a chemical reaction or external reservoirs. We calculate the kinetics of droplet sizes and show that there is a switch from coarsening to narrowing of the size distribution upon material supply. Regulation of droplet sizes by material supply could be relevant for biomolecular condensates in living cells.