Transport barriers to self-propelled particles in fluid flows
Simon A. Berman, John Buggeln, David A. Brantley, Kevin A. Mitchell, Thomas H. Solomon
Abstract
Invariant manifolds blocking the motion of active particles in fluid flows are identified and experimentally confirmed for swimming bacteria in a microfluidic cross-channel flow. These manifolds project to one-way barriers for swimmers in physical space. Distinct barriers are predicted for perfect smooth swimmers versus noisy swimmers in general, nonlinear flows.
Topics & Concepts
MechanicsNonlinear systemFluid motionInvariant (physics)PhysicsFlow (mathematics)Motion (physics)MicrofluidicsClassical mechanicsFluid dynamicsMaterials scienceCurrent (fluid)Penetration (warfare)Blocking (statistics)Micro and Nano RoboticsBiomimetic flight and propulsion mechanismsModular Robots and Swarm Intelligence