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Main Authors: Yashunsky, Victor, Pearce, Daniel J. G., Ariel, Gil, Be'er, Avraham
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.05560
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_version_ 1866911802509492224
author Yashunsky, Victor
Pearce, Daniel J. G.
Ariel, Gil
Be'er, Avraham
author_facet Yashunsky, Victor
Pearce, Daniel J. G.
Ariel, Gil
Be'er, Avraham
contents Topological defects, which are singular points in a director field, play a major role in shaping active systems. Here, we experimentally study topological defects and the flow patterns around them, that are formed during the highly rapid dynamics of swarming bacteria. The results are compared to the predictions of two-dimensional active nematics. We show that, even though some of the assumptions underlying the theory do not hold, the swarm dynamics is in agreement with two-dimensional nematic theory. In particular, we look into the multi-layered structure of the swarm, which is an important feature of real, natural colonies, and find a strong coupling between layers. Our results suggest that the defect-charge density is hyperuniform, i.e., that long range density-fluctuations are suppressed.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_05560
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Topological defects in multi-layered swarming bacteria
Yashunsky, Victor
Pearce, Daniel J. G.
Ariel, Gil
Be'er, Avraham
Soft Condensed Matter
Biological Physics
Topological defects, which are singular points in a director field, play a major role in shaping active systems. Here, we experimentally study topological defects and the flow patterns around them, that are formed during the highly rapid dynamics of swarming bacteria. The results are compared to the predictions of two-dimensional active nematics. We show that, even though some of the assumptions underlying the theory do not hold, the swarm dynamics is in agreement with two-dimensional nematic theory. In particular, we look into the multi-layered structure of the swarm, which is an important feature of real, natural colonies, and find a strong coupling between layers. Our results suggest that the defect-charge density is hyperuniform, i.e., that long range density-fluctuations are suppressed.
title Topological defects in multi-layered swarming bacteria
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Biological Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.05560