Related papers: Understanding cytoskeletal avalanches using mechan…
Spontaneous directed motion, a hallmark of cell biology, is unusual in classical statistical physics. Here we study, using both numerical and analytical methods, organized motion in models of the cytoskeleton in which constituents are…
Cell crawling requires the generation of intracellular forces by the cytoskeleton and their transmission to an extracellular substrate through specific adhesion molecules. Crawling cells show many features of excitable systems, such as…
Microtubules are a major component of the cytoskeleton distinguished by highly dynamic behavior both in vitro and in vivo. We propose a general mathematical model that accounts for the growth, catastrophe, rescue and nucleation processes in…
Earthquakes are rupture-like processes that propagate along tectonic faults and cause seismic waves. The propagation speed and final area of the rupture, which determine an earthquake's potential impact, are directly related to the nature…
This work concerns the long-term dynamics of a spatiotemporal many-body deterministic model that exhibits emergence and self-organization, and which has been recently proposed as a new paradigm for Artificial Life. Collective structures…
Soft solids with tunable mechanical response are at the core of new material technologies, but a crucial limit for applications is their progressive aging over time, which dramatically affects their functionalities. The generally accepted…
Understanding the relationship between complexity and stability in large dynamical systems -- such as ecosystems -- remains a key open question in complexity theory which has inspired a rich body of work developed over more than fifty…
We propose a model to explain finite-size effects in intracellular microrheology observed in experiments. The constrained dynamics of the particles in the intracellular medium, treated as a viscoelastic medium, is described by means of a…
Cell shape changes are largely controlled by the actin cytoskeleton, a dynamic filament network beneath the plasma membrane. Several cell types can form extended free-standing protrusions not supported by an extracellular substrate or…
Powder snow avalanches are highly dynamic, multiphase gravity-driven flows typically composed of a dense basal layer overlain by airborne layers in which snow particles are suspended within a turbulent air phase. Despite extensive work on…
Cytoplasmic viscoelasticity is crucial for various intracellular processes. However, the dynamic shear modulus, $G(\omega)$, has been reported to vary considerably, often without consistent patterns or rules, even within the same cell.…
While it is commonly observed that the shape dynamics of mammalian cells can undergo large random fluctuations, theoretical models aiming at capturing cell mechanics often focus on the deterministic part of the motion. In this paper, we…
Networks of stochastic spiking neurons are interesting models in the area of Theoretical Neuroscience, presenting both continuous and discontinuous phase transitions. Here we study fully connected networks analytically, numerically and by…
The cell cortex is a thin layer beneath the plasma membrane that gives animal cells mechanical resistance and drives most of their shape changes, from migration, division to multicellular morphogenesis. It is mainly composed of actin…
Experiments in various neural systems found avalanches: bursts of activity with characteristics typical for critical dynamics. A possible explanation for their occurrence is an underlying network that self-organizes into a critical state.…
The dynamics of dislocation assemblies in deforming crystals indicate the emergence of collective phenomena, intermittent fluctuations and strain avalanches. In polycrystalline materials, the understanding of plastic deformation mechanisms…
The dynamic energy balance is essential for earthquake studies. The energy balance approach is one of the most famous developments in fracture mechanics. To interpret seismological data, crack models and sliding on a frictional surface…
Athermal models of disordered fibrous networks are highly useful for studying the mechanics of elastic networks composed of stiff biopolymers. The underlying network architecture is a key aspect that can affect the elastic properties of…
The plastic deformation of crystalline and other heterogeneous materials often manifests in stochastic intermittent events indicating the criticality of plastic behavior. Previous studies demonstrated that the presence of short-ranged…
In active matter systems, self-propelled particles can self-organize to undergo collective motion, leading to persistent dynamical behavior out of equilibrium. In cells, cytoskeletal filaments and motor proteins self-organize into complex…