Synchronization and metachronal waves in an array of eukaryotic flagella

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical framework demonstrating how hydrodynamic interactions in large arrays of eukaryotic flagella promote stable metachronal waves, unlike the in-phase synchronization seen in smaller systems.

Contribution

It introduces a phase description and stability analysis for large flagellar arrays, explaining the emergence of metachronal waves through many-body hydrodynamic effects.

Findings

Larger arrays support stable metachronal waves with finite phase differences.

Probability of metachronal wave formation increases with array size.

System size enlarges the set of stable phase-locked modes.

Abstract

We investigate synchronization and metachronal-wave formation in a one-dimensional array of eukaryotic flagella using an elastohydrodynamic model. In contrast to a two-flagellum system, where only in-phase synchronization is stable, larger arrays are found to support stable metachronal waves with finite phase differences. Direct numerical simulations show that metachronal waves appear with increasing probability as the number of flagella increases. To explain this many-body effect, we construct a phase description for the array from that of the pair problem and analyze the stability of phase-locked states with nearest-neighbor hydrodynamic coupling. The analysis shows that increasing system size enlarges the set of stable phase-locked modes, thereby promoting metachronal-wave selection. A continuum description further relates these collective states to advection and diffusion of the phase-difference field. These results provide a simple theoretical framework for understanding how hydrodynamic interactions generate robust metachronal waves in flagellar arrays.