Growth-driven phase separation in mixtures of active matter
Motile particles embedded in a proliferating, homeostatic background can spontaneously separate into dense clusters. Remarkably, this happens without any adhesion between the cells: The effective attraction arises purely from the fluctuations of growth and removal in the surrounding tissue. This adds a genuinely new mechanism to our growing picture of proliferating matter as a distinct class of active matter, and suggests how motile and dividing cell types might organize — or segregate — within living tissue.
Big congratulations to Lukas, and thanks to Bartłomiej Waclaw (Edinburgh & Warsaw), Ramin Golestanian, and David Zwicker for a great collaboration!