title: The passive diffusion of Leptospira interrogans.
abstract: Motivated by recent experimental measurements, the passive diffusion of the bacterium Leptospira interrogans is investigated theoretically. By approximating the cell shape as a straight helix and using the slender-body-theory approximation of Stokesian hydrodynamics, the resistance matrix of Leptospira is first determined numerically. The passive diffusion of the helical cell is then obtained computationally using a Langevin formulation which is sampled in time in a manner consistent with the experimental procedure. Our results are in excellent quantitative agreement with the experimental results with no adjustable parameters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK.
authors.forename: Lyndon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Koens
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lauga
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004058:Diffusion; D007921:Leptospira interrogans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008954:Models, Biological; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology