2013/03/31 by Rodrigo Ledesma‐Aguilar, Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar, Julia M. Yeomans
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advection #Biology #Cellular Mechanics and Interactions #Classical mechanics #Dipole #Mechanics #Micro and Nano Robotics #Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies #Moment (physics) #Motility #Physics #Thermodynamics #cond-mat.soft #physics.bio-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.111.138101
5 pages, 3 figures. Physical Review Letters - accepted
arxiv created 2013/09/05 · openalex publication_date 2013/09/25 · arxiv updated 2015/06/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We analyze the effect of confining rigid and elastic boundaries on the motility of a model dipolar microswimmer. Flexible boundaries are deformed by the velocity field of the swimmer in such a way that the motility of both extensile and contractile swimmers is enhanced. The magnitude of the increase in swimming velocity is controlled by the ratio of the swimmer-advection and elastic time scales, and the dipole moment of the swimmer. We explain our results by considering swimming between inclined rigid boundaries.