Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 25: Active Matter III (joint session DY/BP/CPP)

DY 25.12: Talk

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 12:45–13:00, BH-N 334

The Role of Anisotropy in Pulsating Active Matter — •Luca Casagrande, Alessandro Manacorda, and Etienne Fodor — University of Luxembourg, Department of Physics and Material Science

Contraction waves have been observed in different biological systems where contractile tissues are present. Some examples can be found in embryonic development, cardiac arrhythmogenesis and uterine contraction. Recently, a particle-based model reproducing the spontaneous emergence of contraction waves has been proposed. In this model, a dense system of active particles is considered, where each particle features isotropic repulsion with neighbors, and has an internal drive that periodically changes its size.*However, it is well know that cells in tissues are not isotropic. Therefore, we consider an additional degree of freedom which embodies the ability of particles to change their eccentricity. It enables us to investigate the role of particle anisotropy in pulsating collective dynamics. The resulting dynamics are studied through numerical simulations. Also an analytical hydrodynamics approach is used through coarse-graining methods. We present the full phase diagram that illustrates the stationary regime as a function of the control parameters of the model. Our model elucidates the interplay between nematic order and phase synchronization in pulsating active matter, and it paves the way towards studying how to control the emergence of contractile waves in biological tissues.

Keywords: biological tissues; pulsating active matter; contraction waves