Laurel Ohm, Princeton University
2022 AWM Research Symposium
New EDGE (Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education) PhDs Special Session: Pure and Applied talks by Women Math Warriors
We explore the effects of swimming in a kinetic model of active rodlike particles in Stokes flow. The stability of the uniform, isotropic steady state depends on the swimming mechanism — pullers (front-actuated) vs. pushers (rear-actuated) — as well as a parameter encompassing the ratio of swimming speed to active stress magnitude and particle concentration. In particular, pusher suspensions are known to exhibit instabilities beyond a certain parameter threshold. Our results come in two complementary flavors: 1. Pattern formation within the unstable parameter region (joint work with Mike Shelley) and 2. (Enhanced) stability due to swimming outside the unstable region (joint work with Dallas Albritton).