How spontaneous asymmetry contributes to life

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Spontaneous symmetry breaking in the interaction of identical particle can induce non-reciprocal interactions, resulting in reorganization and movement of active matter | Download

Chemical microreactors create a new class of intelligent active matter systems

• Identical particles can show spontaneous symmetry breaking due to enzymatic activity, which can result in non-reciprocal interactions

• The particle can dynamically switch between different states, depending on their chemical composition

• This phenomenon results in lifelike traits such as signaling, sensing, and movement and therefore gives a perspective on the potential origins of life

In non-reciprocal active matter, agents act differently on each other, seemingly in violation of Newton’s Third Law. This principle can result in various active matter traits, such as and self-propulsion, molecular regulation, and collective motion. A new model now describes how such non-reciprocal interactions can emerge spontaneously between chemically active vesicles. The physicists from the Department of Living Matter Physics at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) found that such vesicles can dynamically switch between ignoring, attracting, repelling, and chasing each other.

“In our work, we describe a fundamentally new class of intelligent active matter systems,” says Jakob Metson, first author of the study. “Remarkably, these non-reciprocal interactions between the vesicles emerge spontaneously by breaking the symmetry of the chemical reactions,” he adds. The driving force behind this mechanism is the enzymatic activity within the semi-permeable vesicles. This can cause a chemical concentration gradient between the interior of a vesicle and its surrounding, defining the behavior of the vesicles. Non-reciprocity can emerge between two vesicles if the concentration of the chemical is higher compared to the surrounding in one vesicle and lower compared to the environment in the other one. Furthermore, as the enzymatic reactions continue, this dynamic state may change over time, either spontaneously or in a controlled way. Manipulating the chemical reactions externally, for example by adding more reactants, can be used to robustly alter the interactions. Remarkably, all the vesicles can be prepared identically; yet their interactions are highly dynamic and depend on their evolving chemical state.

Ramin Golestanian, director at MPI-DS says: “This conceptual framework provides a remarkable degree of flexibility for the emergent properties of the active suspension. The conceptual paradigm that underlies our work is that of emergent symmetries and their associated spontaneous symmetry breaking.” At the origins of life, proto-cells with similar properties are thought to have emerged. The new framework of the study thus gives a strong perspective of how the properties defining life such as signaling, sensing, and movement can emerge.

Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
ramin.golestanian@ds.mpg.de

Originalpublikation:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950636026003191

Weitere Informationen:
https://www.ds.mpg.de/4141590/261026_active_colloids

How spontaneous asymmetry contributes to life

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