{
  "abstract": "When does a collection of autonomous cells become a multicellular individual? We propose that coherence provides a physical description of this transition. Coherence is treated as a global property arising when distinguishable constituents admit a physically meaningful collective state-space description. Using the center of mass and an interaction-based construction, we show that such collective states can be defined for classical bodies before dynamics is introduced, with normal modes emerging as a particular dynamical realization. We apply this framework to multicellular organization, where cells retain their identities while their independent individuality is replaced by participation in the organized whole. In \\emph{Dictyostelium discoideum}, cAMP-mediated coupling produces population-level collective modes, while starvation provides an experimentally controlled energetic constraint on the transition to multicellularity. The framework yields direct tests through interaction-derived collective eigenstates and the energetic cost of maintaining autonomous versus collective organization. Coherence may thus provide a general physical description of multicellular individuality without requiring microscopic quantum coherence or intrinsic wave character.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.26042",
  "author_total": 1,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Yehuda Roth"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4m8sm62zjngxy.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.26042",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "4m8sm62zjngxy",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.26042",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.bio-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3109|Complex Systems and Dynamics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214079992",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.26042",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-22",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4m8sm62zjngxy.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:23:39Z",
      "native_id": "2609.26042",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.26042"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:physics.bio-ph",
      "subfield": "biological-medical"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Coherence in Biological Systems",
  "title_text": "Coherence in Biological Systems",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:23:39Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4m8sm62zjngxy",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}