System size and boundaries determine the patterning dynamics of attracting active particles
Pattern Formation and Solitons
2025-09-11 v1 Soft Condensed Matter
Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems
Biological Physics
Cell Behavior
Abstract
Pattern formation often occurs in confined systems, yet how boundaries shape patterning dynamics is unclear. We develop techniques to analyze confinement effects in nonlocal advection-diffusion equations, which generically capture the collective dynamics of active self-attracting particles. We identify a sequence of size-controlled transitions that generate characteristic slow modes, leading to exponential increase of patterning timescales. Experimental measurements of multicellular dynamics confirm our predictions.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2509.08533,
title = {System size and boundaries determine the patterning dynamics of attracting active particles},
author = {Jan Rombouts and Michael L Zhao and Alexander Aulehla and Anna Erzberger},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.08533},
year = {2025}
}