Theoretical characterization of a model of aragonite crystal orientation in red abalone nacre

TL;DR

This paper provides an analytical framework for understanding how differential growth rates influence the development of aragonite crystal orientation in nacre, aligning with experimental observations and extending previous simulation results.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical model of nacre crystal orientation development based on differential growth rates, complementing prior simulations with a focus on parameter dependence.

Findings

Analytic theory shows high degree of order achievable.

Dynamical equations derived from symmetry considerations.

Numerical simulations link model parameters.

Abstract

Nacre, commonly known as mother-of-pearl, is a remarkable biomineral that in red abalone consists of layers of 400-nm thick aragonite crystalline tablets confined by organic matrix sheets, with the $(001)$ crystal axes of the aragonite tablets oriented to within $\pm$ 12 degrees from the normal to the layer planes. Recent experiments demonstrate that this orientational order develops over a distance of tens of layers from the prismatic boundary at which nacre formation begins. Our previous simulations of a model in which the order develops because of differential tablet growth rates (oriented tablets growing faster than misoriented ones) yield patterns of tablets that agree qualitatively and quantitatively with the experimental measurements. This paper presents an analytical treatment of this model, focusing on how the dynamical development and eventual degree of order depend on model parameters. Dynamical equations for the probability distributions governing tablet orientations are introduced whose form can be determined from symmetry considerations and for which substantial analytic progress can be made. Numerical simulations are performed to relate the parameters used in the analytic theory to those in the microscopic growth model. The analytic theory demonstrates that the dynamical mechanism is able to achieve a much higher degree of order than naive estimates would indicate.