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arXiv · 1302.0311

Collective motion and nonequilibrium cluster formation in colonies of gliding bacteria

Fernando Peruani·Joern Starruss·Vladimir Jakovljevic·Lotte Sogaard-Andersen·Andreas Deutsch·Markus Bar
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Abstract

We characterize cell motion in experiments and show that the transition to collective motion in colonies of gliding bacterial cells confined to a monolayer appears through the organization of cells into larger moving clusters. Collective motion by non-equilibrium cluster formation is detected for a critical cell packing fraction around 17%. This transition is characterized by a scale-free power-law cluster size distribution, with an exponent $0.88\pm0.07$, and the appearance of giant number fluctuations. Our findings are in quantitative agreement with simulations of self-propelled rods. This suggests that the interplay of self-propulsion of bacteria and the rod-shape of bacteria is sufficient to induce collective motion.

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Fernando Peruani, Joern Starruss, Vladimir Jakovljevic, Lotte Sogaard-Andersen, Andreas Deutsch, Markus Bar. 2013-02-01. Collective motion and nonequilibrium cluster formation in colonies of gliding bacteria. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.108.098102

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