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Published on: August 18, 2017
Morphological and chiral symmetry breaking in reaction-diffusion systems.
1Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Faculte des Sciences, Belgium.
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|September 21, 1987
Summary
This study explores symmetry breaking in reaction-diffusion systems, revealing how chiral interactions and external fields can generate optically active patterns from racemic conditions. It quantifies the sensitivity of these patterns to chiral and external influences.
Area of Science:
- Theoretical physics
- Chemical kinetics
- Pattern formation
Background:
- Reaction-diffusion systems exhibit complex pattern formation.
- Chiral symmetry breaking is crucial in various physical and chemical processes.
- Understanding pattern selection mechanisms is key to explaining emergent complexity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate morphological and chiral symmetry breaking in reaction-diffusion systems.
- To elucidate a novel pattern selection mechanism involving two triggers.
- To explore the origin of optically active structures from initially racemic conditions.
Main Methods:
- Application of the theory of imperfect codimension-two bifurcations.
- Analysis of reaction-diffusion systems incorporating chiral interactions and external fields.
- Quantitative assessment of pattern sensitivity to chiral and external parameters.
Main Results:
- A new pattern selection mechanism with two triggers is identified.
- Morphologically asymmetric, optically active structures can arise from homogeneous, racemic states.
- The sensitivity of molecular chirality and morphological asymmetry is quantified as O(delta^1/3) and O(eta^1/3), respectively.
- Mode-mode interaction sensitivity is found to be O(delta^2/3) or O(eta^2/3).
Conclusions:
- Chiral interactions and external fields play a significant role in symmetry breaking and pattern formation.
- The findings offer insights into the emergence of chirality and morphological asymmetry in complex systems.
- The study provides a theoretical framework potentially relevant to the origin of life.
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