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PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv

Spontaneous filament formation and network self-assembly via active phase separation

  • Elena Lucas
  • Varun Venkatesh
  • Amin Doostmohammadi
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Abstract

We introduce Active Model H−, a scalar phase-field model of non-equilibrium phase separation in the overdamped hydrodynamic limit, and show that it produces filamentous networks with enhanced connections and arrested coarsening, a morphology not observed in existing scalar active field theories. Isolated filaments are unstable to spontaneous bending, and the resulting curvature drives self-propulsion towards the convex side, causing them to collide and assemble into a percolating network. The networks are locally non-equilibrium, with anomalously curved edges, disordered vertex angles and heterogeneous topological charge, yet recover Lewis's law macroscopically. Under noise they show balanced break and reform dynamics.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{lucas2026spontaneous,
  title = {{Spontaneous filament formation and network self-assembly via active phase separation}},
  author = {Elena Lucas and Varun Venkatesh and Amin Doostmohammadi},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.19800},
  eprint = {2609.19800},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19800},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Spontaneous filament formation and network self-assembly via active phase separation
AU  - Elena Lucas
AU  - Varun Venkatesh
AU  - Amin Doostmohammadi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/17
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.19800
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19800
AB  - We introduce Active Model H^−, a scalar phase-field model of non-equilibrium phase separation in the overdamped hydrodynamic limit, and show that it produces filamentous networks with enhanced connections and arrested coarsening, a morphology not observed in existing scalar active field theories. Isolated filaments are unstable to spontaneous bending, and the resulting curvature drives self-propulsion towards the convex side, causing them to collide and assemble into a percolating network. The networks are locally non-equilibrium, with anomalously curved edges, disordered vertex angles and heterogeneous topological charge, yet recover Lewis's law macroscopically. Under noise they show balanced break and reform dynamics.
ER  -