Dancing Volvox: Hydrodynamic Bound States of Swimming Algae

Details Dancing Volvox: Hydrodynamic Bound States of Swimming Algae Dancing Volvox: Hydrodynamic Bound States of Swimming Algae

2009-01-14

arxiv.org/abs/0901.2087v1

Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 168101 (2009)

Physics

Condensed Matter

Soft Condensed Matter

4 pages, 5 figures

Scientific paper

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 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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