Diffusivity of E. coli-like microswimmers in confined geometries: The role of the tumbling rate

Base flow decomposition for complex moving objects in linear hydrodynamics: Application to helix-shaped flagellated microswimmers

The motion of microswimmers in complex flows is ruled by the interplay between swimmer propulsion and the dynamics induced by the fluid velocity field. Here we study the motion of a chiral microswimmer whose propulsion is provided by the spinning of a helical tail with respect to its body in a simple shear flow. Thanks to an efficient computational strategy that allowed us to simulate thousands of different trajectories, we show that the tail shape dramatically affects the swimmer's motion. In the shear dominated regime, the swimmers carrying an elliptical helical tail show several different Jeffery-like (tumbling) trajectories depending on their initial configuration. As the propulsion torque increases, a progressive regularization of the motion is observed until, in the propulsion dominated regime, the swimmers converge to the same final trajectory independently on the initial configuration. Overall, our results show that elliptical helix swimmer presents a much richer variety of trajectories with respect to the usually studied circular helix tails.

Flow characteristics of Chlamydomonas result in purely hydrodynamic scattering

It has long been believed that eukaryotic flagellated swimming cells feel solid boundaries through direct ciliary contact. Specifically, based on observations of behavior of green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii it has been reported that it is their "flagella [that] prevent the cell body from touching the surface" [Kantsler et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 110, 1187 (2013)PNASA60027-842410.1073/pnas.1210548110]. Here, via investigation of a model swimmer whose flow field closely resembles that of C. reinhardtii, we show that the scattering from a wall can be purely hydrodynamic and that no mechanical or flagellar force is needed for sensing and escaping the boundary.

Flagellated microswimmers: Hydrodynamics in thin liquid films

The hydrodynamics of a flagellated microswimmer moving in thin films is discussed. The fully resolved hydrodynamics is exploited by solving the Stokes equations for the actual geometry of the swimmer. Two different interfaces are used to confine the swimmer: a bottom solid wall and a top air-liquid interface, as appropriate for a thin film. The swimmer follows curved clockwise trajectories that can converge towards an asymptotically stable circular path or can result in a collision with one of the two interfaces. A bias towards the air-liquid interface emerges. Slight changes in the swimmer geometry and film thickness strongly affect the resulting dynamics suggesting that a very reach phenomenology occurs in the presence of confinement. Under specific conditions, the swimmer follows a "crown-like" path. Implications for the motion of bacteria close to an air bubble moving in a microchannel are discussed.