A cellular automaton model for Myxobacterial rippling pattern formation

Uwe Börner

MPI for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
email: boerner@mpipks-dresden.mpg.de

Periodic density patterns (ripples) appear during the aggregation of Myxobacteria. A principal component analysis of experimental data shows that these patterns are well described as standing waves. We present a cellular automaton model of ripppling pattern formation. Collisions between cells moving in opposite directions initiate reversal. The basic hypothesis is the existence of a non-excitable phase after reversal. The average duration of this refractory phase determines the ripple wave length.