Enhanced motility of a microswimmer in rigid and elastic confinement

Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar, Julia Yeomans

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    57 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    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.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalPhysical Review Letters
    Volume111
    Issue number13
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2013

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