arXiv · 2205.03306
Phase separation on surfaces in presence of matter exchange
Abstract
We present a field theory to describe the composition of a surface spontaneously exchanging matter with its bulk environment. By only assuming matter conservation in the system, we show with extensive numerical simulations that, depending on the matter exchange rates, a complex patterned composition distribution emerges in the surface. For one-dimensional systems we show analytically and numerically that coarsening is arrested and as a consequence domains have a characteristic length scale. Our results show that the causes of heterogeneous lipid composition in cellular membranes may be justified in simple physical terms.
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Nirvana Caballero, Karsten Kruse, Thierry Giamarchi. 2022-05-06. Phase separation on surfaces in presence of matter exchange. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.108.l012801
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