We present a fundamental classification of forces relevant in nonequilibrium structure formation under collective flow in Brownian many-body systems. The internal one-body force field is systematically split into contributions relevant for the spatial structure and for the coupled motion. We demonstrate that both contributions can be obtained straightforwardly in computer simulations and present a power functional theory that describes all types of forces quantitatively. Our conclusions and methods are relevant for flow in inertial systems, such as molecular liquids and granular media.

• Received 19 December 2019
• Accepted 27 May 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.018001