SPATIAL DYNAMICS OF A MODEL FOR PREBIOTIC EVOLUTION

The selective properties of a population formed by RNA-like molecules (replicators) with catalytic capabilities are analyzed in an extended system. The population evolves in a closed reactor and is kept far from equilibrium by means of a recycling reaction that transforms the degradation products of the replicators into energy rich monomers, from which the species are built up. In the limit of infinite diffusion, for a particular set of parameters the system exhibits tristability between chaos and two fixed points. Under this setup, numerical techniques are used to prove the formation of spatial patterns when finite diffusion forces are taken into account in one- and two-dimensional spaces. Finally, the relevance of these results is discussed within a prebiotic framework.