Collective Dynamics of Active Cytoskeletal Networks
Figure 5
(A) shows a simulation snapshot superimposed with the time-resolved center-off mass positions of the respective clusters. As can be seen from the center-off-mass trajectories, individual clusters move in a succession of runs and stalls and in general move less the larger they are. This is reflected in the mean-square displacements depicted in (B): while the large cluster shows a diffusive motion (curve 3) the other clusters move in a superdiffusive manner with mean square displacement exponents . The heterogeneity in the system leads to a broad distribution of exponents
with a mean at
(C). The exact value of the mean exponent depends on the details of the motor- and crosslinker (un-)binding kinetics. Increasing the motor off-rate
leads to a decreased activity in the system, visible in the decline of the mean square displacement exponent
(D, blue curve). Likewise, the activity and hence the exponent
decline, if the crosslinker on-rate
is increased (D, red curve).