Novel physics arising from phase transitions in biology
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Lee, C
Wurtz, Jean David
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Phase transitions, such as the freezing of water and the magnetisation of a ferromagnet upon lowering the ambient temperature, are familiar physical phenomena. Interestingly, such a collective change of behaviour at a phase transition is also of importance to living systems. From cytoplasmic organisation inside a cell to the collective migration of cell tissue during organismal development and wound healing, phase transitions have emerged as key mechanisms underlying many crucial biological processes. However, a living system is fundamentally different from a thermal system, with driven chemical reactions (e.g. metabolism) and motility being two hallmarks of its non-equilibrium nature. In this review, we will discuss how driven chemical reactions can arrest universal coarsening kinetics expected from thermal phase separation, and how motility leads to the emergence of a novel universality class when the rotational symmetry is spontaneously broken in an incompressible fluid.
Date Issued
2018-10-25
Date Acceptance
2018-09-28
Citation
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2018, 52 (2)
ISSN
0022-3727
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Volume
52
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd. This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The definitive publisher authenticated version is available online at https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/aae510
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Physics, Applied
Physics
phase transitions
biological physics
collective phemonena
phase separation
critical phenomena
universality
PARISI-ZHANG MODEL
DIPOLAR INTERACTIONS
STRESS GRANULES
CRITICAL-BEHAVIOR
MESSENGER-RNA
4 DIMENSIONS
CELLS
FERROMAGNETS
ELASTICITY
SEPARATION
physics.bio-ph
cond-mat.soft
cond-mat.stat-mech
02 Physical Sciences
09 Engineering
Applied Physics
Publication Status
Published