Transport barriers to self-propelled particles in fluid flows

Abstract

We present theory and experiments demonstrating the existence of invariant manifolds that impede the motion of microswimmers in two-dimensional fluid flows. One-way barriers are apparent in a hyperbolic fluid flow that block the swimming of both smooth-swimming and run-and-tumble \emph{Bacillus subtilis} bacteria. We identify key phase-space structures, called swimming invariant manifolds (SwIMs), that serve as separatrices between different regions of long-time swimmer behavior. When projected into $xy$-space, the edges of the SwIMs act as one-way barriers, consistent with the experiments.

arXiv comment11 pages, 8 figures

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Cited by in corpus (7)

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• Reaching for the surface: Spheroidal microswimmers in surface gravity waves
• Phoresis in cellular flows: from enhanced dispersion to blockage
• Swimmer dynamics in externally-driven fluid flows: The role of noise
• Microswimmer trapping in surface waves with shear
• Noise-induced aggregation of swimmers in the Kolmogorov flow
• Active Caustics