Localized states in active fluids

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that localized states in active fluids can emerge spontaneously through a mechanism involving advective coupling with chemical species, revealing a generic process underlying cellular pattern formation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for localized pattern formation in active matter driven by advective coupling with chemical species, absent in previous models.

Findings

Localized states form via a subcritical bifurcation.

Advective coupling enables pattern formation where it was previously absent.

The mechanism is generic and relevant to cellular patterning.

Abstract

Biological active matter is typically tightly coupled to chemical reaction networks affecting its assembly-disassembly dynamics and stress generation. We show that localized states can emerge spontaneously if assembly of active matter is regulated by chemical species that are advected with flows resulting from gradients in the active stress. The mechanochemical localized patterns form via a subcritical bifurcation and for parameter values for which patterns do not exist in absence of the advective coupling. Our work identifies a generic mechanism underlying localized cellular patterns.