Topological flowscape reveals state transitions in nonreciprocal living matter
Fuente:
arXiv
Enregistré dans:
| Auteurs principaux: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2025
|
| Sujets: | |
| Accès en ligne: | |
| Tags: |
Ajouter un tag
Pas de tags, Soyez le premier à ajouter un tag!
|
| _version_ | 1866915626545577984 |
|---|---|
| author | Lee, Hyunseok Koskelo, EliseAnne Gokhale, Shreyas Li, Junang Fei, Chenyi Liu, Chih-Wei Joshua Lin, Lisa Dunkel, Jorn Skinner, Dominic J. Fakhri, Nikta |
| author_facet | Lee, Hyunseok Koskelo, EliseAnne Gokhale, Shreyas Li, Junang Fei, Chenyi Liu, Chih-Wei Joshua Lin, Lisa Dunkel, Jorn Skinner, Dominic J. Fakhri, Nikta |
| contents | Nonreciprocal interactions-- where forces between entities are asymmetric-- govern a wide range of nonequilibrium phenomena, yet their role in structural transitions in living and active systems remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate a transition between nonreciprocal states using starfish embryos at different stages of development, where interactions are inherently asymmetric and tunable. Experiments, interaction inference, and topological analysis yield a nonreciprocal state diagram spanning crystalline, flocking, and fragmented states, revealing that weak nonreciprocity promotes structural order while stronger asymmetry disrupts it. To capture these transitions, we introduce topological landscapes, mapping the distribution of structural motifs across state space. We further develop topological flowscapes, a dynamic framework that quantifies transitions between collective states and detects an informational rate shift from the experimental state transition. Together, these results establish a general approach for decoding nonequilibrium transitions and uncover how asymmetric interactions sculpt the dynamical and structural architecture of active and living matter. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_11815 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Topological flowscape reveals state transitions in nonreciprocal living matter Lee, Hyunseok Koskelo, EliseAnne Gokhale, Shreyas Li, Junang Fei, Chenyi Liu, Chih-Wei Joshua Lin, Lisa Dunkel, Jorn Skinner, Dominic J. Fakhri, Nikta Soft Condensed Matter Statistical Mechanics Biological Physics Nonreciprocal interactions-- where forces between entities are asymmetric-- govern a wide range of nonequilibrium phenomena, yet their role in structural transitions in living and active systems remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate a transition between nonreciprocal states using starfish embryos at different stages of development, where interactions are inherently asymmetric and tunable. Experiments, interaction inference, and topological analysis yield a nonreciprocal state diagram spanning crystalline, flocking, and fragmented states, revealing that weak nonreciprocity promotes structural order while stronger asymmetry disrupts it. To capture these transitions, we introduce topological landscapes, mapping the distribution of structural motifs across state space. We further develop topological flowscapes, a dynamic framework that quantifies transitions between collective states and detects an informational rate shift from the experimental state transition. Together, these results establish a general approach for decoding nonequilibrium transitions and uncover how asymmetric interactions sculpt the dynamical and structural architecture of active and living matter. |
| title | Topological flowscape reveals state transitions in nonreciprocal living matter |
| topic | Soft Condensed Matter Statistical Mechanics Biological Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.11815 |