Dense suspensions of magnetotactic bacteria form long, thin, stable bands perpen­ dicutar to the common, net direction of motion of the cells in a magnetic field. A mechanism for this phenomenon is proposed in which the hydrodynamic coupling between two swimming cells is described in terms of an approximate, far-field solution for the flow around one swimming cell. The calculated hydrodynamic i...

Many patterns in biological systems depend on the exchange of chemical signals between cells. We report a spatiotemporal pattern mediated by hydrodynamic interactions. At planar surfaces, spermatozoa self-organized into dynamic vortices resembling quantized rotating waves. These vortices formed an array with local hexagonal order. Introducing an order parameter that quantifies cooperativity, we...

We study synchronization of an array of rotors on a substrate that are coupled by hydrodynamic interaction. Each rotor, which is modeled by an effective rigid body, is driven by an internal torque and exerts an active force on the surrounding fluid. The long-ranged nature of the hydrodynamic interaction between the rotors causes a rich pattern of dynamical behaviors including phase ordering and...

We describe simulations of an elastic filament immersed in a fluid and subjected to a body force. The coupling between the fluid flow and the friction that the filament experiences induces bending and alignment perpendicular to the force. With increasing force there are four shape regimes, ranging from slight distortion to an unsteady tumbling motion. We also find marginally stable structures. ...

We numerically investigate the behavior of driven noncohesive granular media and find that two fixed large intruder particles, immersed in a sea of small particles, experience, in addition to a short-range depletion force, a long-range repulsive force. The observed long-range interaction is fluctuation-induced and we propose a mechanism similar to the Casimir effect that generates it: The hydro...

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the drag force acting on a high porosity aerogel immersed in liquid (3)He and its effect on sound propagation. The drag force is characterized by the Knudsen number, which is defined as the ratio of the quasiparticle mean free path to the radius of an aerogel strand. Evidence of the Knudsen-hydrodynamic crossover is clearly demonstrate...

Wave-swept marine algae must contend with the hydrodynamic forces imposed by extreme water velocities. Nonetheless, they seldom have a shape that appears streamlined and they are constructed of weak, compliant materials. How do they survive? The answer is complex, but a coherent story is beginning to emerge. The combined effect of frond shape and material properties ensures that algae are flexi...