including bundles, clusters, and contractile rings. Datasets that describe the interaction of actin filaments with motors through time can either be generated used stochastic agent-based models or can come directly from experiments, typically in the form of fluorescence videos.
In studying the emergence and maintenance of ring channel structures in such complex time-series data, we develop tools based on persistent homology that can distinguish between distinct filament organizations and experimental conditions. This work also raises interesting questions about assessing the significance of topological features in topological summaries and about the role of multiple motors in regulating actomyosin behavior.