Regensburg 2010 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 4: Statistical Physics of Biological Systems II (joint BP, DY)

BP 4.5: Talk

Monday, March 22, 2010, 15:15–15:30, H45

Modelling a flexible sheet swimmer with stochastic rotation dynamics — •Sujin Babu and Holger Stark — Institut für Theoretische Physik Technische Universität Berlin

The dynamics of microorganisms in a viscous fluid has recently received considerable attention in the physics community. It has been reported that some microorganisms (such as the African Trypanosome) make use of hydrodynamic flow fields to evade attack from antibodies. The flexible cell body of the African Trypanosome possesses some bending rigidity due to its cytoskeleton. To mimic the cell body of such an organism, we introduce a flexible sheet that is impenetrable to the surrounding fluid. The flow fields around such a sheet are simulated by stochastic rotation dynamics. I will explain how we couple the flexible sheet to the viscous fluid. Then I will discuss the drag coefficients of the sheet and investigate how it swims under the influence of appropriately applied forces.