Growth of patterns in a multicellular chemical system and their responses to boundaries

Abstract

The generation and growth of filaments and tubes in multicellular chemical systems is studied numerically. Filaments and tubes are formed by the interactions between the moving chemical front and the inhomogeneous chemical medium. Depending on the system parameters, tubes respond differently to the impermeable boundaries or to already developed patterns. These tubes may be stopped by the boundary, change the direction of growth, or develop branches forming skeleton-type structures. Some relationships among these phenomena and new directions in materials science are suggested.