Nonequilibrium Structure and Relaxation in Active Microemulsions

Chatterjee R, Kuan HS, Jülicher F, Zaburdaev V (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Physical Review Letters American Physical Society

Book Volume: 135

Pages Range: 038401-

Journal Issue: 3

DOI: 10.1103/jfm6-8h9s

Abstract

Microphase separation is common in active biological systems as exemplified by the separation of RNA- and DNA-rich phases in the cell nucleus driven by the transcriptional activity of polymerase enzymes acting similarly to amphiphiles in a microemulsion. Here we propose an analytically tractable model of an active microemulsion to investigate how the activity affects its structure and relaxation dynamics. Continuum theory derived from a lattice model exhibits two distinct regimes of the relaxation dynamics and is linked to the broken detailed balance due to intermittent activity of the amphiphiles.

Authors with CRIS profile

Rakesh Chatterjee Lehrstuhl für Mathematik in den Lebenswissenschaften Hui-Shun Kuan Lehrstuhl für Mathematik in den Lebenswissenschaften Vasily Zaburdaev Lehrstuhl für Mathematik in den Lebenswissenschaften

Involved external institutions

Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme (MPI PKS) / Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Chatterjee, R., Kuan, H.-S., Jülicher, F., & Zaburdaev, V. (2025). Nonequilibrium Structure and Relaxation in Active Microemulsions. Physical Review Letters, 135(3), 038401-. https://doi.org/10.1103/jfm6-8h9s

MLA:

Chatterjee, Rakesh, et al. "Nonequilibrium Structure and Relaxation in Active Microemulsions." Physical Review Letters 135.3 (2025): 038401-.

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