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Active matter dynamics in cells can be described by a quasipotential, enabling the study of cell motility as a phase transition. Stochastic disorder can trigger intermittent dynamics between static and motile states.

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Area of Science:

  • Physics of active matter
  • Biophysics
  • Soft condensed matter

Background:

  • Interacting molecular motors in cells exhibit local non-potential dynamics.
  • Understanding collective self-organization is key to cell motility.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a quasipotential model for collective motor organization in active gels.
  • To analyze cell motility as an active phase transition.
  • To investigate the role of stochastic disorder in cell dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Formulation of a continuum active gel model.
  • Identification of a quasipotential governing motor self-organization.
  • Analysis of steady-state configurations minimizing the quasipotential.
  • Investigation of metastable states and stochastic transitions.

Main Results:

  • A quasipotential effectively describes collective motor self-organization at the continuum active gel level.
  • Cell motility can be modeled as a phase transition between static and motile states that minimize the quasipotential.
  • Static and motile configurations can coexist metastably.
  • Stochastic disorder can induce intermittent cell dynamics, favoring states that minimize the quasipotential.

Conclusions:

  • The quasipotential framework provides a powerful tool for understanding active matter dynamics in biological systems.
  • Cell motility emerges from collective motor behavior and can be viewed as a tunable phase transition.
  • Stochastic fluctuations play a crucial role in dictating the dynamic behavior of active gels and cell motility.