title: Metachronal waves in a chain of rowers with hydrodynamic interactions.
abstract: Hair-like appendages called cilia on the surface of a microorganism such as Paramecium or Opalina beat highly synchronized and form so-called metachronal waves that travel along the surfaces. In order to study under what principal conditions these waves form, we introduce a chain of beads, called rowers, each periodically driven by an external force on a straight line segment. To implement hydrodynamic interactions between the beads, they are considered point-like. Two beads synchronize in antiphase or in phase depending on the positive or negative curvature of their driving-force potential. Concentrating on in-phase synchronizing rowers, we find that they display only transient synchronization in a bulk fluid. On the other hand, metachronal waves with wavelengths of 7-10 rower distances emerge, when we restrict the range of hydrodynamic interactions either artificially to nearest neighbors or by the presence of a bounding surface as in any relevant biological system.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Theoretische Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany. christopherwollin@web.de
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wollin
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stark
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods; D002923:Cilia; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009068:Movement; D009991:Oscillometry / Q000379:methods; D010247:Paramecium / Q000502:physiology*