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arXiv · 1108.5999

Generic phases of cross-linked active gels: Relaxation, Oscillation and Contractility

Shiladitya Banerjee·Tanniemola B. Liverpool·M. Cristina Marchetti
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Abstract

We study analytically and numerically a generic continuum model of an isotropic active solid with internal stresses generated by non-equilibrium `active' mechano-chemical reactions. Our analysis shows that the gel can be tuned through three classes of dynamical states by increasing motor activity: a constant unstrained state of homogeneous density, a state where the local density exhibits sustained oscillations, and a steady-state which is spontaneously contracted, with a uniform mean density.

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Shiladitya Banerjee, Tanniemola B. Liverpool, M. Cristina Marchetti. 2011-10-12. Generic phases of cross-linked active gels: Relaxation, Oscillation and Contractility. https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075%2F96%2F58004

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