dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaCollapsing Bacterial Cylinders
| Authors | M. D. Betterton, Michael P. Brenner |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/9908039 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9908039 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevE.64.061904 |
| Journal | Physical Review E, vol 64, 061904 (2001) |
Abstract
Under special conditions bacteria excrete an attractant and aggregate. The high density regions initially collapse into cylindrical structures, which subsequently destabilize and break up into spherical aggregates. This paper presents a theoretical description of the process, from the structure of the collapsing cylinder to the spacing of the final aggregates. We show that cylindrical collapse involves a delicate balance in which bacterial attraction and diffusion nearly cancel, leading to corrections to the collapse laws expected from dimensional analysis. The instability of a collapsing cylinder is composed of two distinct stages: Initially, slow modulations to the cylinder develop, which correspond to a variation of the collapse time along the cylinder axis. Ultimately, one point on the cylinder pinches off. At this final stage of the instability, a front propagates from the pinch into the remainder of the cylinder. The spacing of the resulting spherical aggregates is determined by the front propagation.
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"abstract": "Under special conditions bacteria excrete an attractant and aggregate. The\nhigh density regions initially collapse into cylindrical structures, which\nsubsequently destabilize and break up into spherical aggregates. This paper\npresents a theoretical description of the process, from the structure of the\ncollapsing cylinder to the spacing of the final aggregates. We show that\ncylindrical collapse involves a delicate balance in which bacterial attraction\nand diffusion nearly cancel, leading to corrections to the collapse laws\nexpected from dimensional analysis. The instability of a collapsing cylinder is\ncomposed of two distinct stages: Initially, slow modulations to the cylinder\ndevelop, which correspond to a variation of the collapse time along the\ncylinder axis. Ultimately, one point on the cylinder pinches off. At this final\nstage of the instability, a front propagates from the pinch into the remainder\nof the cylinder. The spacing of the resulting spherical aggregates is\ndetermined by the front propagation.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/9908039",
"authors": [
"M. D. Betterton",
"Michael P. Brenner"
],
"categories": [
"physics.bio-ph",
"cond-mat.soft",
"nlin.PS",
"patt-sol"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevE.64.061904",
"journal_ref": "Physical Review E, vol 64, 061904 (2001)",
"title": "Collapsing Bacterial Cylinders",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9908039"
},
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