Effervescence in a binary mixture with nonlinear non-reciprocal interactions

Journal article

Non-reciprocal interactions between scalar fields that represent the concentrations of two active species are known to break the parity and time-reversal (PT) symmetries of the equilibrium state, as manifested in the emergence of travelling waves. We explore the notion of nonlinear non-reciprocity and consider a model in which the non-reciprocal interactions can depend on the local values of the scalar fields in such a way that the non-reciprocity can change sign. For generic cases where such couplings exist, we observe the emergence of spatiotemporal chaos in the steady-state. We associate this chaotic behaviour with a local restoration of PT symmetry in fluctuating spatial domains, which leads to the coexistence of oscillating densities and phase-separated droplets that are spontaneously created and annihilated. We uncover that this phenomenon, which we denote as effervescence, can exist as a dynamical steady-state in large parts of the parameter space in two different incarnations, as characterised by the presence or absence of an accompanying travelling wave.

Authors: Saha, S; Golestanian, R

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 1
• Article number: 7310
• Publication date: 2025-08-07
• Acceptance date: 2025-07-01
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61728-8
• EISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• Language: English