Related papers: Microbial Active Matter: A Topological Framework

Time is, figuratively and literally, becoming the new dimension for crystalline matter. As such, rapid recent progress on time-varying media gave rise to the notion of temporal and spatiotemporal crystals. Fundamentally rethinking the role…

A convenient measure of a map or flow's chaotic action is the topological entropy. In many cases, the entropy has a homological origin: it is forced by the topology of the space. For example, in simple toral maps, the topological entropy is…

Living systems are made of active materials with microscopic components that work together to perform macroscopic biological tasks. The breakdown of these collective functionalities leads to diseases, which, conversely, could be treated by…

The study of systems with sustained energy uptake and dissipation at the scale of the constituent particles is an area of central interest in nonequilibrium statistical physics. Identifying such systems as a distinct category -- Active…

Topology provides a unifying framework for understanding robust transport through protected edge states arising from nontrivial wavenumber topology. Extending these concepts to active matter, however, remains largely unexplored…

Topology, a well-established concept in mathematics, has nowadays become essential to describe condensed matter. At its core are chiral electron states on the bulk, surfaces and edges of the condensed matter systems, in which spin and…

Topological defects are increasingly being identified in various biological systems, where their characteristic flow fields and stress patterns are associated with continuous active stress generation by biological entities. Here, using…

When the motion of a motile cell is observed closely, it appears erratic, and yet the combination of nonequilibrium forces and surfaces can produce striking examples of organization in microbial systems. While most of our current…

Droplets are essential for spatially controlling biomolecules in cells. To work properly, cells need to control the emergence and morphology of droplets. On the one hand, driven chemical reactions can affect droplets profoundly. For…

Topological defects are at the root of the large-scale organization of liquid crystals. In two-dimensional active nematics, two classes of topological defects of charges $\pm 1/2$ are known to play a major role due to active stresses.…

This study introduces a pore morphology algorithm that emphasizes the central role of topology in multiphase flow through porous media. Analysis of drainage in lattice-based pore networks identifies two key quantities, the percolation…

An active area of research interest is the inference of ecological models of complex microbial communities. Inferring such ecological models entails understanding the interactions between microbes and how they affect each other's growth.…

Anisotropic rod-like particles form liquid crystalline phases with varying degrees of orientational and translational order. When confined geometrically, these phases can give rise to topological defects, which can be selected and…

The notion of topology in physical systems is associated with the existence of a nonlocal ordering that is insensitive to a large class of perturbations. This brings robustness to the behaviour of the system and can serve as a ground for…

Robustness against small perturbations is a crucial feature of topological properties. This robustness is both a source of theoretical interest and a drive for technological applications, but presents a challenge when looking for new…

Microbial ecosystems are remarkably diverse, stable, and often consist of a balanced mixture of core and peripheral species. Here we propose a conceptual model exhibiting all these emergent properties in quantitative agreement with real…

Nucleation, commonly associated with discontinuous transformations between metastable and stable phases, is crucial in fields as diverse as atmospheric science and nanoscale electronics. Traditionally, it is considered a microscopic process…

Biological cells in living tissues form dynamic patterns with local orientational order and topological defects. Here we demonstrate an approach to produce cell monolayer with the predesigned orientational patterns using human dermal…

Interaction between active materials and the boundaries of geometrical confinement is key to many emergent phenomena in active systems. For living active matter consisting of animal cells or motile bacteria, the confinement boundary is…

Cell deformability is an essential determinant for tissue-scale mechanical nature, such as fluidity and rigidity, and is thus crucial for understanding tissue homeostasis and stable developmental processes. However, numerical simulations…