Location
MC 6460
Speaker
Marta Zoppello
Title
Swimming with hydrodynamic interaction
Abstract
In the regime of inertialess hydrodynamics, the time-reversibility of Stokes flow imposes severe constraints on locomotion strategies, as formalized by the well-known Scallop Theorem. A classical method to overcome this limitation involves coupling multiple micro-swimmer units, thereby introducing asymmetries in the combined dynamics. In this talk, we present recent results concerning the local controllability of systems composed of multiple micro-swimmers immersed in a viscous fluid. We highlight the crucial role of hydrodynamic interactions in enabling or obstructing controllability. Specifically, we analyze the case of two coupled micro-swimmers and prove a dichotomy: while hydrodynamic coupling can render a pair of individually non-controllable scallops controllable as a system, it can also hinder controllability when each swimmer is individually controllable, as in the case of Purcell swimmers.