Hydrodynamic interactions of cilia on a spherical body

Babak Nasouri; Gwynn J. Elfring

doi:10.1103/physreve.93.033111

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arXiv · 1511.05485

Hydrodynamic interactions of cilia on a spherical body

Babak Nasouri·Gwynn J. Elfring

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Abstract

Microorganisms develop coordinated beating patterns on surfaces lined with cilia known as metachronal waves. For a chain of cilia attached to a flat ciliate, it has been shown that hydrodynamic interactions alone can lead the system to synchronize. However, several microorganisms possess a curve shaped ciliate body and so to understand the effect of this geometry on the formation of metachronal waves, we evaluate the hydrodynamic interactions of cilia near a large spherical body. Using a minimal model, we show that for a chain of cilia around the sphere, the natural periodicity in the geometry leads the system to synchronize. We also report an emergent wave-like behavior when an asymmetry is introduced to the system.

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Babak Nasouri, Gwynn J. Elfring. 2015-12-09. Hydrodynamic interactions of cilia on a spherical body. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.93.033111

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