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Dancing volvox: hydrodynamic bound states of swimming algae
Knut Drescher1, Kyriacos C Leptos, Idan Tuval
1Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
The spherical alga Volvox swims by means of flagella on thousands of surface somatic cells. This geometry and its large size make it a model organism for studying the fluid dynamics of multicellularity. Remarkably, when two nearby Volvox colonies swim close to a solid surface, they attract one another and can form stable bound states in which they "waltz" or "minuet" around each other. A surface-mediated hydrodynamic attraction combined with lubrication forces between spinning, bottom-heavy Volvox explains the formation, stability, and dynamics of the bound states. These phenomena are suggested to underlie observed clustering of Volvox at surfaces.
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