Nonlinear transport and pattern formation in two-dimensional binary systems

The transport of charged colloidal particles in the environment of larger colloidal particles or polymers is ubiquitous in biological and chemical systems. By tuning the size, charge and dimensionality of the colloidal particles, the responses of the system to the external electric field can be varied and show exotic nonlinear effects. In this report, we focus on two-dimensional binary systems, where the colloidal particles have large size asymmetry. The interaction between the conducting small particles and the vibrational degrees of freedom of large particles is crucial for understanding the nonlinear transport behavior of the small particles and the formation of some non-trivial patterns of the density distribution. Proposals of experimental realization will be presented.