Related papers: Actively stressed marginal networks
Disordered spring networks that are undercoordinated may abruptly rigidify when sufficient strain is applied. Since the deformation in response to applied strain does not change the generic quantifiers of network architecture - the number…
In recent years it has been argued that the tension parameter driving the fluctuations of fluid membranes, differs from the imposed lateral stress, the 'frame tension'. In particular, stress-free membranes were predicted to have a residual…
We present a theory for the elasticity of cross-linked stiff polymer networks. Stiff polymers, unlike their flexible counterparts, are highly anisotropic elastic objects. Similar to mechanical beams stiff polymers easily deform in bending,…
Strain stiffening of protein networks is explored by means of a finite strain analysis of a two-dimensional network model of cross-linked semiflexible filaments. The results show that stiffening is caused by non-affine network…
Inspired by the ubiquity of composite filamentous networks in nature we investigate models of biopolymer networks that consist of interconnected floppy and stiff filaments. Numerical simulations carried out in three dimensions allow us to…
The continuous integration of experimental data into coherent models of the brain is an increasing challenge of modern neuroscience. Such models provide a bridge between structure and activity, and identify the mechanisms giving rise to…
Functional connectivity is a fundamental property of neural networks that quantifies the segregation and integration of information between cortical areas. Due to mathematical complexity, a theory that could explain how the parameters of…
Actin networks, acting as an engine pushing against an external load, are fundamentally important to cell motility. A measure of the effectiveness of an engine is the velocity the engine is able to produce at a given force, the…
Cortical neurons are characterized by irregular firing and a broad distribution of rates. The balanced state model explains these observations with a cancellation of mean excitatory and inhibitory currents, which makes fluctuations drive…
Force fluctuations exhibited in focal adhesions (FAs) that connect a cell to its extracellular environment, point to the complex role of the underlying machinery that controls cell migration. To elucidate the explicit role of myosin motors…
We characterize the fluctuation properties of a polymer chain under external tension and the fluctuation-induced forces between two ring molecules threaded around the chain. The problem is relevant in the context of fluctuation-induced…
Causal relations among neuronal populations of the brain are studied through the so-called effective connectivity (EC) network. The latter is estimated from EEG or fMRI measurements, by inverting a generative model of the corresponding…
We study the mechanical stiffening behavior in two-dimensional (2D) cross-linked networks of semiflexible biopolymer filaments under simple shear. Filamental constituents immersed in a fluid undergo thermally excited bending motions.…
Various functions of a network of excitable units can be enhanced if the network is in the `critical regime', where excitations are, on average, neither damped nor amplified. An important question is how can such networks self-organize to…
Fibrous networks are ideal functional materials since they provide mechanical rigidity at low weight. Such structures are omnipresent in natural biomaterials from cells to tissues, as well as in man-made materials from polymeric composites…
The neural dynamics generating sensory, motor, and cognitive functions are commonly understood through field theories for neural population activity. Classic neural field theories are derived from highly simplified models of individual…
We explore Random Scale-Free networks of populations, modelled by chaotic Ricker maps, connected by transport that is triggered when population density in a patch is in excess of a critical threshold level. Our central result is that…
Contractile cytoskeletal structures such as fine actomyosin meshworks and stress fibers are essential force-generators for mechanical phenomena in live cells, including motility, morphogenesis, and mechanosensing. While there have been many…
The theory of complex networks and of disordered systems is used to study the stability and dynamical properties of a simple model of material flow networks defined on random graphs. In particular we address instabilities that are…
Analytical and numerical calculations are presented for the mechanical response of fiber networks in a state of axisymmetric prestress, in the limit where geometric non-linearities such as fiber rotation are negligible. This allows us to…