2010/07/01 by S. Ghorai, Manoj Kumar Panda, M. K. Panda +1 · 5 citations
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Mathematical Biology Tumor Growth #Micro and Nano Robotics
paper · doi:10.1063/1.3457163
openalex publication_date 2010/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Phototaxis is a directed swimming response toward a light source sensed by micro-organisms. Positive phototaxis represents swimming toward the source of light intensity and negative phototaxis is the swimming away from it. In this paper we develop a new model for phototaxis that incorporates the effects of absorption and scattering by the micro-organisms. This model is then used to analyze the linear stability of a suspension of phototactic algae illuminated by a collimated radiation at the top. A comprehensive numerical study of the linear stability is presented with particular emphasis on the scattering effect. As a result of scattering, for some parameter values, the micro-organisms accumulate in two horizontal layers at different depths in the basic equilibrium state. Examples of oscillatory instabilities are also found.