Phase separation on surfaces in the presence of matter exchange.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37583133.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1103/PhysRevE.108.L012801.
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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 on 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.