2018/12/26 by Anupam Gupta, Amal Roy, Arnab Saha +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.soft #cond-mat.stat-mech #physics.flu-dyn
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevfluids.5.052601
published as Phys. Rev. Fluids 5, 052601 (2020)
arxiv created 2018/12/26 · arxiv updated 2020/05/20
We investigate the effect of cooperative interactions in an ensemble of microorganisms, modelled as self-propelled disk-like and rod-like particles, in a three-dimensional turbulent flow to show flocking as an emergent phenomenon. Building on the work by Choudhary, et al. [Europhys. Lett. 112, 24005 (2015)] for two-dimensional systems, and combining ideas from active matter and turbulent transport, we show that non-trivial correlations between the flow and individual dynamics are essential for the microorganisms to flock in, for example, a turbulent three-dimensional, marine environment. Our results may have implications especially in the modelling of artificial microswimmers in a hostile environment.