Related papers: Stability of adhesion clusters under constant forc…
Using a minimal model of cells or cohesive cell layers as continuum active elastic media, we examine the effect of substrate thickness and stiffness on traction forces exerted by strongly adhering cells. We obtain a simple expression for…
It is shown that a compound elastic structure, which displays a dynamic instability, may be designed as the union (or 'fusion') of two structures which are stable when separately analyzed. The compound elastic structure has two degrees of…
Statistical aspects of the dynamics of chaotic scattering in the classical model of $\alpha$-cluster nuclei are studied. It is found that the dynamics governed by hyperbolic instabilities which results in an exponential decay of the…
Transitions in structural heterogeneity of colloidal depletion gels formed through short-range attractive interactions are correlated with their dynamical arrest. The system is a density and refractive index matched suspension of 0.20…
We report the formation of alternating strings and clusters in a binary suspension of repulsive charged colloids with double layers larger than the particle size. Within a binary cell model we include many-body and charge-regulation effects…
The development of traction-force microscopy, in the past two decades, has created the unprecedented opportunity of performing direct mechanical measurements on living cells as they adhere or crawl on uniform or micro-patterned substrates.…
Starting from configurations having homogeneous spatial density, we study kinetics in a two-dimensional system of inelastically colliding hard particles, a popular model for cooling granular matter. Following an initial time period, the…
We show that the vibrational response of a glassy liquid at finite frequencies can be described by continuum mechanics despite the vast degeneracy of the vibrational ground state; standard continuum elasticity assumes a unique ground state.…
We propose a method for quantifying charge-driven instabilities in clusters, based on equilibrium simulations under confinement at constant external pressure. This approach makes no assumptions about the mode of decay and allows different…
Kinetics of collision-sticking processes between vapor molecules and molecular clusters of low volatile compounds facilitates the initial steps of atmospheric clustering. Conventional theoretical models are quite inaccurate due to the…
Depending on the pH value and salt concentration of Al2O3 suspensions different microstructures can form. Especially the clustered one is of major interest for industrial purposes as found in the production of ceramics. In this paper we…
Non-processive molecular motors have to work together in ensembles in order to generate appreciable levels of force or movement. In skeletal muscle, for example, hundreds of myosin II molecules cooperate in thick filaments. In non-muscle…
Hydrogen bonding liquids, typically water and alcohols, are known to form labile structures (network, chains, etc...), hence the lifetime of such structures is an important microscopic parameter, which can be calculated in computer…
Most cells possess the capacity to locomote. Alone or collectively, this allows them to adapt, to rearrange, and to explore their surroundings. The biophysical characterization of such motile processes, in health and disease, has so far…
The behaviour and fate of tissue cells is controlled by the rigidity and geometry of their adhesive environment, possibly through forces localized to sites of adhesion. We introduce a mechanical model that predicts cellular force…
Deterministic simulations of the rate equations governing cluster dynamics in materials are limited by the number of equations to integrate. Stochastic simulations are limited by the high frequency of certain events. We propose a coupling…
It is known that mechanical interactions couple a cell to its neighbors, enabling a feedback loop to regulate tissue growth. However, the interplay between cell-cell adhesion strength, local cell density and force fluctuations in regulating…
Flatbands feature the distortion-free storage of compact localized states of tailorable shape. Their reliable storage sojourn is, however, limited by disorder potentials, which generically cause uncontrolled coupling into dispersive bands.…
Rigidity percolation provides an important basis for understanding the onset of mechanical stability in disordered materials. While most studies on the triangular lattice have focused on static properties at fixed bond~(site) occupation…
Adhesion bonds between membranes and surfaces are attracted to each other via effective interactions whose origin the entropy loss due to the reduction in the amplitude of the membrane thermal fluctuations in the vicinity of the adhesion…