201 research outputs found
A kinetic model and scaling properties for non-equilibrium clustering of self-propelled particles
We demonstrate that the clustering statistics and the corresponding phase
transition to non-equilibrium clustering found in many experiments and
simulation studies with self-propelled particles (SPPs) with alignment can be
obtained from a simple kinetic model. The key elements of this approach are the
scaling of the cluster cross-section with the cluster mass -- characterized by
an exponent -- and the scaling of the cluster perimeter with the
cluster mass -- described by an exponent . The analysis of the kinetic
approach reveals that the SPPs exhibit two phases: i) an individual phase,
where the cluster size distribution (CSD) is dominated by an exponential tail
that defines a characteristic cluster size, and ii) a collective phase
characterized by the presence of non-monotonic CSD with a local maximum at
large cluster sizes. At the transition between these two phases the CSD is well
described by a power-law with a critical exponent , which is a function
of and only. The critical exponent is found to be in the range
in line with observations in experiments and simulations
Reentry near the percolation threshold in a heterogeneous discrete model for cardiac tissue
Arrhythmias in cardiac tissue are related to irregular electrical wave propagation in the heart. Cardiac tissue is formed by a discrete cell network, which is often heterogeneous. A localized region with a fraction of nonconducting links surrounded by homogeneous conducting tissue can become a source of reentry and ectopic beats. Extensive simulations in a discrete model of cardiac tissue show that a wave crossing a heterogeneous region of cardiac tissue can disintegrate into irregular patterns, provided the fraction of nonconducting links is close to the percolation threshold of the cell network. The dependence of the reentry probability on this fraction, the system size, and the degree of excitability can be inferred from the size distribution of nonconducting clusters near the percolation threshold.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Intracellular mechanochemical waves in an active poroelastic model
Many processes in living cells are controlled by biochemical substances regulating active stresses. The cytoplasm is an active material with both viscoelastic and liquid properties. We incorporate the active stress into a two-phase model of the cytoplasm which accounts for the spatiotemporal dynamics of the cytoskeleton and the cytosol. The cytoskeleton is described as a solid matrix that together with the cytosol as an interstitial fluid constitutes a poroelastic material. We find different forms of mechanochemical waves including traveling, standing, and rotating waves by employing linear stability analysis and numerical simulations in one and two spatial dimensions.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Antispiral waves are sources in oscillatory reaction-diffusion media
Spiral and antispiral waves are studied numerically in two examples of
oscillatory reaction-diffusion media and analytically in the corresponding
complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (CGLE). We argue that both these structures
are sources of waves in oscillatory media, which are distinguished only by the
sign of the phase velocity of the emitted waves. Using known analytical results
in the CGLE, we obtain a criterion for the CGLE coefficients that predicts
whether antispirals or spirals will occur in the corresponding
reaction-diffusion systems. We apply this criterion to the FitzHugh-Nagumo and
Brusselator models by deriving the CGLE near the Hopf bifurcations of the
respective equations. Numerical simulations of the full reaction-diffusion
equations confirm the validity of our simple criterion near the onset of
oscillations. They also reveal that antispirals often occur near the onset and
turn into spirals further away from it. The transition from antispirals to
spirals is characterized by a divergence in the wavelength. A tentative
interpretaion of recent experimental observations of antispiral waves in the
Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction in a microemulsion is given.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Chem. B on Feb. 20, 2004.
A short account of the spiral-antispiral criterion has been given in PRL (see
http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v92/e089801
Effective medium approach for heterogeneous reaction-diffusion media
An effective medium theory that can be used to calculate effective diffusion and reaction rate coefficients in random heterogeneous reaction-diffusion systems is described. The predictions of the theory are compared with simulations of spatially distributed media with different types of heterogeneity. The magnitude of the front velocity in bistable media is used to gauge the accuracy of the theoretical predictions. Quantitative agreement is found if the diffusion length in the heterogeneities is large compared to the characteristic width of the front. However, for small diffusion lengths the agreement depends on the type of heterogeneity. The effective medium predictions are also compared with simulations on systems with regular or temporal disorder.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Complex wave patterns in an effective reaction–diffusion model for chemical reactions in microemulsions
An effective medium theory is employed to derive a simple qualitative model of a pattern forming chemical reaction in a microemulsion. This spatially heterogeneous system is composed of water nanodroplets randomly distributed in oil. While some steps of the reaction are performed only inside the droplets, the transport through the extended medium occurs by diffusion of intermediate chemical reactants as well as by collisions of the droplets. We start to model the system with heterogeneous reaction–diffusion equations and then derive an equivalent effective spatially homogeneous reaction–diffusion model by using earlier results on homogenization in heterogeneous reaction–diffusion systems [ S. Alonso, M. Bär, and R. Kapral, J. Chem. Phys. 134, 214102 (2009)]. We study the linear stability of the spatially homogeneous state in the resulting effective model and obtain a phase diagram of pattern formation, that is qualitatively similar to earlier experimental results for the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction in an aerosol OT (AOT)-water-in-oil microemulsion [ V. K. Vanag and I. R. Epstein, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 228301 (2001)]. Moreover, we reproduce many patterns that have been observed in experiments with the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction in an AOT oil-in-water microemulsion by direct numerical simulations.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Nonlinear physics of electrical wave propagation in the heart: a review
The beating of the heart is a synchronized contraction of muscle cells
(myocytes) that are triggered by a periodic sequence of electrical waves (action
potentials) originating in the sino-atrial node and propagating over the atria and
the ventricles. Cardiac arrhythmias like atrial and ventricular fibrillation (AF,VF)
or ventricular tachycardia (VT) are caused by disruptions and instabilities of these
electrical excitations, that lead to the emergence of rotating waves (VT) and turbulent
wave patterns (AF,VF). Numerous simulation and experimental studies during the
last 20 years have addressed these topics. In this review we focus on the nonlinear
dynamics of wave propagation in the heart with an emphasis on the theory of pulses,
spirals and scroll waves and their instabilities in excitable media and their application
to cardiac modeling. After an introduction into electrophysiological models for action
potential propagation, the modeling and analysis of spatiotemporal alternans, spiral
and scroll meandering, spiral breakup and scroll wave instabilities like negative line
tension and sproing are reviewed in depth and discussed with emphasis on their impact
in cardiac arrhythmias.Peer ReviewedPreprin
Surfactant-induced gradients in the three-dimensional Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction
Scroll waves are prominent patterns formed in three-dimensional excitable media, and they are frequently considered highly relevant for some types of cardiac arrhythmias. Experimentally, scroll wave dynamics is often studied by optical tomography in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, which produces CO2 as an undesired product. Addition of small concentrations of a surfactant to the reaction medium is a popular method to suppress or retard CO2 bubble formation. We show that in closed reactors even these low concentrations of surfactants are sufficient to generate vertical gradients of excitability which are due to gradients in CO2 concentration. In reactors open to the atmosphere such gradients can be avoided. The gradients induce a twist on vertically oriented scroll waves, while a twist is absent in scroll waves in a gradient-free medium. The effects of the CO2 gradients are reproduced by a numerical study, where we extend the Oregonator model to account for the production of CO2 and for its advection against the direction of gravity. The numerical simulations confirm the role of solubilized CO2 as the source of the vertical gradient of excitability in reactors closed to the atmosphere.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Discrete stochastic modeling of calcium channel dynamics
We propose a simple discrete stochastic model for calcium dynamics in living
cells. Specifically, the calcium concentration distribution is assumed to give
rise to a set of probabilities for the opening/closing of channels which
release calcium thereby changing those probabilities. We study this model in
one dimension, analytically in the mean-field limit of large number of channels
per site N, and numerically for small N. As the number of channels per site is
increased, the transition from a non-propagating region of activity to a
propagating one changes in nature from one described by directed percolation to
that of deterministic depinning in a spatially discrete system. Also, for a
small number of channels a propagating calcium wave can leave behind a novel
fluctuation-driven state, in a parameter range where the limiting deterministic
model exhibits only single pulse propagation.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR
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