The droplet size distribution and its dynamics in chemically active emulsions (2501.16299v1)

Abstract: We present a dynamic theory for the droplet size distribution in chemically active emulsions, considering a simple ternary mixture with a conserved density. We show that the collective behavior of many droplets, such as monodispersity, emerges through a coupling of the conserved density in the far field. Using our theory, we determine the stationary state of such emulsions and characterize the relaxation of the droplet size distributions at late times. A key finding is a universal scaling behavior, leading to the collapse of the rescaled size distributions at late times. Our results suggest that the key features of our dynamic theory are generic and apply to the broader class of multi-component systems with conservation laws and active chemical reactions.