Controllable laning phase for oppositely driven disk systems*

Abstract

A two-dimensional binary driven disk system embedded by impermeable tilted plates is investigated through nonequilibrium computer simulations. It is well known that a binary disk system in which two particle species are driven in opposite directions exhibits jammed, phase separated, disordered, and laning states. The presence of tilted plates can not only advance the formation of laning phase, but also effectively stabilize laning phase by suppressing massively drifting behavior perpendicular to the driving force. The lane width distribution can be controlled easily by the interplate distance. The collective behavior of driven particles in laning phase is guided by the funnel-shaped confinements constituted by the neighboring tilted plates. Our results provide the important clues for investigating the mechanism of laning formation in driven system.