| Issue |
Europhys. Lett.
Volume 70, Number 3, May 2005
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 404 - 410 | |
| Section | Interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/epl/i2004-10501-2 | |
| Published online | 06 April 2005 | |
Spontaneous flow transition in active polar gels
1
Physicochimie Curie (CNRS-UMR168), Institut Curie, Section de Recherche 26 rue d'Ulm, 75248 Paris Cedex 05, France
2
ESPCI - 10 rue Vauquelin, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
Received:
15
December
2004
Accepted:
17
March
2005
We study theoretically the effects of confinement on active polar gels such as the actin network of eukaryotic cells. Using generalized hydrodynamics equations derived for active gels, we predict, in the case of quasi–one-dimensional geometry, a spontaneous flow transition from a homogeneously polarized immobile state for small thicknesses, to a perturbed flowing state for larger thicknesses. The transition is not driven by an external field but by the activity of the system. We suggest several possible experimental realizations.
PACS: 87.10.+e – Biological and medical physics: General theory and mathematical aspects / 83.80.Lz – Physiological materials (e.g. blood, collagen, etc.) / 61.25.Hq – Macromolecular and polymer solutions; polymer melts; swelling
© EDP Sciences, 2005
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