Conformation and dynamics of wet tangentially-driven active filaments

TL;DR

This study investigates how hydrodynamic interactions affect the shape and movement of active polymers, revealing that fluid forces cause these polymers to shrink and move more dynamically than in dry conditions, especially at high activity levels.

Contribution

It demonstrates the significant influence of fluid-mediated hydrodynamic interactions on the conformational and dynamical behavior of wet active polymers, highlighting differences from passive polymers.

Findings

Wet active polymers shrink due to hydrodynamic interactions, especially at high activity levels.

Hydrodynamic interactions enhance the mobility and conformational changes of active polymers.

Passive polymers are unaffected by fluid-mediated interactions in their conformational properties.

Abstract

We explore the impact of hydrodynamic interactions on the conformational and dynamical properties of wet tangentially-driven active polymers using multiparticle collision dynamics simulations. By analyzing active filaments with varying degrees of flexibility, we find that fluid-mediated interactions significantly influence both their conformation and dynamics. These interactions cause polymer conformations to shrink relative to their dry counterparts, especially for semiflexible polymers at high activity levels, where the average size of wet chains becomes nearly three times smaller, due to local buckling of wet polymers. This hydrodynamic-induced shrinkage is a hallmark of active polymers, as fluid-mediated interactions do not affect conformational properties of passive polymers. Furthermore, for tangentially-driven polymers where activity and conformation are coupled, hydrodynamic interactions significantly enhance the orientational and translational dynamics compared to their dry counterparts.