2025/11/20 by Masayuki Hayakawa, Biplab Bhattacherjee, Hayakawa, Masayuki +5 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Cellular Mechanics and Interactions #FOS: Physical sciences #Micro and Nano Robotics #Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2511.16074
openalex publication_date 2025/11/20 · openalex created_date 2025/11/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Chirality organize living and active matter systems into striking collective states, yet the principles that govern chiral ordering in open systems, where elements are continuously added or removed, remain unclear. A mutant strain of Dictyostelium discoideum deficient in chemotaxis (KI cells) forms centimeter-scale, clockwise multi-armed spirals. Each arm is a traveling band produced by short-range alignment interactions and guided by a polar-ordered rotating core that encircles the cell source. A subtle clockwise bias in the single-cell migration is amplified by collective ordering into tissue-scale chirality. To uncover the minimal ingredients, we developed an open chiral Vicsek model and identified intrinsic chirality and continuous cell supply as the key factors. Our study establishes a general route by which weak microscopic chirality and sustained material flux generate macroscopic chiral order, offering new insight into chiral patterning in multicellular behaviors.