Hydrodynamic synchronisation of optically driven rotors

0507088 - ÚPT 2020 RIV US eng C - Conference Paper (international conference)
Debono, L. - Box, S. - Phillips, D. B. - Simpson, Stephen Hugh - Hanna, S.
Hydrodynamic synchronisation of optically driven rotors.
Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation XII (Proceedings of SPIE 9548). Bellingham: SPIE, 2015, č. článku 95481B. ISBN 9781628417142. ISSN 0277-786X.
[Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation /12./. San Diego (US), 09.08.2015-12.08.2015]
Institutional support: RVO:68081731
Keywords : optical tweezers * hydrodynamic synchronisation * Brownian dynamics simulation
OECD category: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics)

Hydrodynamic coupling is thought to play a role in the coordinated beating of cilia and flagella, and may inform the future design of artificial swimmers and pumps. In this study, optical tweezers are used to investigate the hydrodynamic coupling between a pair of driven oscillators. The theoretical model of Lenz and Ryskin [P. Lenz and A. Ryskin, Phys. Biol. 3, 285-294 (2006)] is experimentally recreated, in which each oscillator consists of a sphere driven in a circular trajectory. The optical trap position is maintained ahead of the sphere to provide a tangential driving force. The trap is also moved radially to harmonically constrain the sphere to the circular trajectory. Analytically, it has been shown that two oscillators of this type are able to synchronise or phase-lock under certain conditions. We explore the interplay between synchronisation mechanisms and find good agreement between experiment, theory and Brownian dynamics simulations.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0298347