Vortex reversal is a precursor of confined bacterial turbulence.

ABSTRACT: Active turbulence, or chaotic self-organized collective motion, is often observed in concentrated suspensions of motile bacteria and other systems of self-propelled interacting agents. To date, there is no fundamental understanding of how geometrical confinement orchestrates active turbulence and alters its physical properties. Here, by combining large-scale experiments, computer modeling, and analytical theory, we have identified a generic sequence of transitions occurring in bacterial suspensions confined in cylindrical wells of varying radii. With increasing the well's radius, we observed that persistent vortex motion gives way to periodic vortex reversals, four-vortex pulsations, and then well-developed active turbulence. Using computational modeling and analytical theory, we have show

SUBMITTER: Nishiguchi D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11929451 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature