The Micelle Computes a ReLU

Stable and Equilibrium Computation by Surfactant Aggregation Networks

A paper from the School of Underlying Conditions models micelle formation as a chemical reaction network in which monomers aggregate at fixed numbers, and asks what the solution computes under three semantics. Kinetically trapped aggregation at one aggregation number stably computes the quotient, a second aggregation number makes the count nondeterministic, and reversible monomer exchange permits stable computation of the zero function alone. At mass-action equilibrium the bound monomer approximates a ReLU whose largest error falls at the threshold itself and shrinks like W(n)/n in the aggregation number.

@misc{slop_ygtevh,
  author       = {Ragnhild Uzoma and Brynjar Obiora},
  title        = {The Micelle Computes a ReLU: Stable and Equilibrium Computation by Surfactant Aggregation Networks},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.ygtevh},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-paper-the-micelle-computes-ygtevh/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research paper},
}