title: Mutation at Expanding Front of Self-Replicating Colloidal Clusters.
abstract: We construct a scheme for self-replicating square clusters of particles in two spatial dimensions, and validate it with computer simulations in a finite-temperature heat bath. We find that the self-replication reactions propagate through the bath in the form of Fisher waves. Our model reflects existing colloidal systems, but is simple enough to allow simulation of many generations and thereby the first study of evolutionary dynamics in an artificial system. By introducing spatially localized mutations in the replication rules, we show that the mutated cluster population can survive and spread with the expanding front in circular sectors of the colony.
authors.affiliation: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.|Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.|Soft matter and chemistry laboratory, ESPCI PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Zorana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zeravcic
authors.affiliation: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.|Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Brenner