Physical interactions enable energy-efficient Turing patterns

2025/09/05 by Cathelijne ter Burg, David Zwicker, ter Burg, Cathelijne +1 · 1 voice
Computer Science · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Memory and Neural Computing #Cellular Automata and Applications #Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence #physics.bio-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2509.05093

arxiv published 2025/09/05 · arxiv updated 2025/11/21

Abstract

Patterns are ubiquitous in nature, but how they form is often unclear. Turing developed a seminal theory to explain patterns based on reactions that counteract the equalizing tendency of diffusion. These reactions require continuous energy input since the system otherwise would proceed to equilibrium, but what systems are energy-efficient is currently unclear. To address this question, we introduce a thermodynamically-consistent model of a Turing system. We reveal that repulsive interactions between the stereotypical activator and inhibitor reduce energy requirements significantly. Interestingly, efficient patterns occur for weak activity, albeit at reduced amplitude. Our results suggest that physical interactions might be central in forming natural patterns.

Discussions

• Cathelijne discovered that the energy required to maintain Turing patterns can be reduced substantially if the involved molecules repel each other (arxiv.org/abs/2509.05093). This work permits a therm [bsky, 3 points, 1 comments]

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