A collection of rings made of active Brownian particles (ABPs) for different packing fractions and activities is investigated using computer simulations. We show that active rings display an emergent dynamic clustering instead of the conventional motility-induced phase separation (MIPS) as in the case of collection of ABPs. Surprisingly, increasing packing fraction of rings exhibits a nonmonotonicity in the dynamics due to the formation of a large number of small clusters. The conformational fluctuations of the polymers suppress the usual MIPS exhibited by ABPs. Our findings demonstrate how the motion of a collection of rings is influenced by the interplay of activity, topology, and connectivity.

• Received 16 November 2023
• Accepted 19 January 2024

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.L012038

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Published by the American Physical Society