From individual to collective swimming dynamics of <em>bacillus subtilis</em>
Presenter
June 1, 2010
Keywords:
- Coherent
MSC:
- 81R30
Abstract
Joint work with John O. Kessler (Physics Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721).
Keywords: bacteria, interacting self propelled particles, collective behavior, PIV, bio-fluid-dynamics
Abstract: Spatial order and fast collective coherent dynamics of
populations of swimming bacteria emerges from local
interactions and from flows generated by the organisms’
locomotion. The transition from dilute, to intermediate, to
high concentrations of cells will be demonstrated by movie
clips. Analyses of these data, presented as probability density
functions for swimming velocity, show that the low
concentration phase which exhibits swimming speeds
characteristic of individual bacteria, arrives at the
anomalously high speed phase, ZBN, the ZoomingBioNematic, via
an intermediate phase that exhibits surprisingly low mean
speeds. The origin of this phenomenon relates to scattering and
the known dynamics of velocity flipping. Particle Imaging
Velocimetry (PIV) was used for analysis of mixing, and of
collective velocities, correlated with alignment within
coherent patches.
Supported by the Department of Energy, grant DOE-W-31-109-ENG-38.