A universal route to pattern formation in multicellular systems

Malbor Asllani (), Timoteo Carletti, Duccio Fanelli and Philip K. Maini
Additional contact information
Malbor Asllani: MACSI, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Limerick
Timoteo Carletti: Namur Institute for Complex Systems, University of Namur
Duccio Fanelli: Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, INFN and CSDC
Philip K. Maini: Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Woodstock Rd

The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, 2020, vol. 93, issue 7, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract A general framework for the generation of long wavelength patterns in multi-cellular (discrete) systems is proposed, which extends beyond conventional reaction-diffusion (continuum) paradigms. The standard partial differential equations of reaction-diffusion framework can be considered as a mean-field like ansatz which corresponds, in the biological setting, to sending to zero the size (or volume) of each individual cell. By relaxing this approximation and, provided a directionality in the flux is allowed for, we demonstrate here that instability leading to spatial pattern formation can always develop if the (discrete) system is large enough, namely, composed of sufficiently many cells, the units of spatial patchiness. The macroscopic patterns that follow the onset of the instability are robust and show oscillatory or steady state behavior. Graphical abstract

Keywords: Statistical; and; Nonlinear; Physics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1140/epjb/e2020-10206-3 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:eurphb:v:93:y:2020:i:7:d:10.1140_epjb_e2020-10206-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/10051

DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2020-10206-3

Access Statistics for this article

The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems is currently edited by P. Hänggi and Angel Rubio

More articles in The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems from Springer, EDP Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().