Events in Physics
Sebastian Ahnert, Cambridge
Location: PS1.28
Self-Assembly and Physical Complexity
Self-assembly is ubiquitous in physics, chemistry and biology, and has many applications in materials science and engineering. Here we present a general approach for finding the simplest set of building blocks which will assemble into a given physical structure. Our procedure can be adapted to any given geometry, and thus to any given type of physical system. The amount of information required to describe the simplest set of building blocks which self-assembles into a given structure provides a quantitative measure of the structure's physical complexity. This measure is capable of detecting any symmetry or modularity in the underlying structure. We also introduce the notions of joint, mutual and conditional complexity for self-assembling structures. We illustrate our approach using self-assembling polyominoes, and demonstrate the breadth of its potential applications by using it to quantify the physical complexity of molecules and crystals, as well as protein complexes.
Self-assembly is ubiquitous in physics, chemistry and biology, and has many applications in materials science and engineering. Here we present a general approach for finding the simplest set of building blocks which will assemble into a given physical structure. Our procedure can be adapted to any given geometry, and thus to any given type of physical system. The amount of information required to describe the simplest set of building blocks which self-assembles into a given structure provides a quantitative measure of the structure's physical complexity. This measure is capable of detecting any symmetry or modularity in the underlying structure. We also introduce the notions of joint, mutual and conditional complexity for self-assembling structures. We illustrate our approach using self-assembling polyominoes, and demonstrate the breadth of its potential applications by using it to quantify the physical complexity of molecules and crystals, as well as protein complexes.