Effect of Persistent Noise on the XY Model and Two-Dimensional Crystals

Abstract: Two-dimensional (2D) crystals made of active particles were shown recently to be able to experience extremely large spontaneous deformations without melting. The root of this phenomenon was argued to lie in the time-persistence of the orientation of the intrinsic axes of particles. Here, we pursue this idea and consider passive systems subjected to time-persistent external perturbations. We first study a 2D XY model subjected to time-correlated noise and find that it can remain quasi-ordered in spite of correlations decaying much faster than allowed in equilibrium. We then study a simple model of a passive 2D crystal immersed in a bath of active particles, and show that it can sustain large deformations without melting.