How life emerges from a simple particle motion law: Introducing the Primordial Particle System

A demonstration of how complex, self-reproducing, cell-like structures emerge from a simple motion law governing self-propelled particles.

How life emerges from a simple particle motion law: Introducing the Primordial Particle Systems Self-structuring patterns can be observed all over the universe, from galaxies to molecules to living matter, yet their emergence is waiting for full understanding. We discovered a simple motion law for moving and interacting self-propelled particles leading to a self-structuring, self-reproducing and selfsustaining life-like system. The patterns emerging within this system resemble patterns found in living organisms. The emergent cells we found show a distinct life cycle and even create their own ecosystem from scratch. These structures grow and reproduce on their own, show self-driven behavior and interact with each other. Here we analyze the macroscopic properties of the emerging ecology, as well as the microscopic properties of the mechanism that leads to it. Basic properties of the emerging structures (size distributions, longevity) are analyzed as well as their resilience against sensor or actuation noise. If this caught your interest, here you'll find more about Primordial Particle Systems: nature.com/articles/srep37969 As more and more people create their own implementiations of the PPS (examples can be found below), a public GitLab repository for PPS related programs can be found here: gitlab.com/thomasschmickl/primordialparticlesystems_public.g… If you want to add a program, please contact us per mail, which you can find here: alife.uni-graz.at/ One version of the PPS by Joe Haythornthwaite (nagualdesign) can be accessed here: nagualdesign.github.io/ Another version of the Primordial Particle System by Brian H. can be found on beta.observablehq.com/@daxreincarnate/primordial-particle-sy… A video of another implementation by TheRainHarvester can be found here: youtu.be/I6bHpJ2GV0Y