Soft Matter and Complex Systems Seminar
sala 1.40, ul. Pasteura 5
2023-10-20 (09:30) 
Anna Maciołek (IChF PAN, Warsaw & MPI for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart)
Relaxation to steady states of a binary liquid mixture around an optically heated colloid
Relaxation processes are fundamental phenomena in soft and condensed matter physics.The most research attention has been paid to relaxation processes close to equilibrium, which are now well understood. This is not the case for relaxation near nonequilibrium steady states. One of the basic questions here is what determines the time scales for a given system to reach a nonequilibrium steady state and to relax back to equilibrium.
This problem is of particular relevance for light absorbing particles that heat up under laser illumination. In response to an emerging temperature gradient, the surrounding medium restructures giving rise to a variety of curious phenomena, which can be of great practical use.
I will present our recent experimental and theoretical study on relaxation dynamics in a system which over the last decade has become a paradigm for studying various aspects of active matter, i.e., a Janus silica particle half coated by gold and suspended in a binary liquid mixture.
This problem is of particular relevance for light absorbing particles that heat up under laser illumination. In response to an emerging temperature gradient, the surrounding medium restructures giving rise to a variety of curious phenomena, which can be of great practical use.
I will present our recent experimental and theoretical study on relaxation dynamics in a system which over the last decade has become a paradigm for studying various aspects of active matter, i.e., a Janus silica particle half coated by gold and suspended in a binary liquid mixture.