Collective behavior of quorum-sensing run-and-tumble particles in confinement

Abstract

We study a generic model for quorum-sensing bacteria in circular confinement. Every bacterium produces signaling molecules, the local concentration of which triggers a response when a certain threshold is reached. If this response lowers the motility then an aggregation of bacteria occurs, which differs fundamentally from standard motility-induced phase separation due to the long-ranged nature of the concentration of signal molecules. We analyze this phenomenon analytically and by numerical simulations employing two different protocols leading to stationary cluster and ring morphologies, respectively.

to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett

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• Quorum-sensing active particles with discontinuous motility
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• Non-equilibrium steady structures of confined liquid crystals driven by a dynamic boundary
• Emergent clustering due to quorum sensing interactions in active matter
• Interspecies evolutionary dynamics mediated by public goods in bacterial quorum sensing