# Non-ideal rheology of semidilute bacterial suspensions

## TL;DR

This paper investigates the complex rheological behavior of semidilute bacterial suspensions using kinetic theory, revealing non-linear effects, phase transitions, and shear stress oscillations that challenge idealized models.

## Contribution

It introduces models considering binary interactions with steric and short-range forces, demonstrating non-ideal rheology and phase transitions in bacterial suspensions.

## Key findings

- Ordered phase develops with increasing density.
- Shear stress oscillates with large amplitudes at certain shear rates.
- Non-linear effects can increase shear stress in pusher swimmers.

## Abstract

The rheology of semidilute bacterial suspensions is studied with the tools of kinetic theory, considering binary interactions, going beyond the ideal gas approximation. Two models for the interactions are considered, which encompass both the steric and short range interactions. In these, swimmers can either align polarly regardless of the state previous to the collision or they can align axially, being possible the end up antiparallel if the relative angle between directors is large. In both cases, it is found that an ordered phase develops when increasing the density, where the shear stress oscillates with large amplitudes, when a constant shear rate is imposed. This oscillation disappears for large shear rates in a continuous or discontinuous transition, depending if the aligning is polar or axial, respectively. For pusher swimmers these non-linear effects can produce an increase on the shear stress, contrary to the prediction of viscosity reduction made for the dilute regime with the ideal gas approximation.