Geometry of self-propulsion at low Reynolds number

The problem of swimming at low Reynolds number is formulated in terms of a gauge field on the space of shapes. Effective methods for computing this field, by solving a linear boundary-value problem, are described. We employ conformal-mapping techniques to calculate swimming motions for cylinders wit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fluid mechanics 1989-01, Vol.198 (1), p.557-585
Main Authors: Shapere, Alfred, Wilczek, Frank
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied fluid mechanics
Exact sciences and technology
Fluid dynamics
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Hydrodynamics, hydraulics, hydrostatics
Physics
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Summary:The problem of swimming at low Reynolds number is formulated in terms of a gauge field on the space of shapes. Effective methods for computing this field, by solving a linear boundary-value problem, are described. We employ conformal-mapping techniques to calculate swimming motions for cylinders with a variety of crosssections. We also determine the net translationl motion due to arbitrary infinitesimal deformations of a sphere.
ISSN:0022-1120
1469-7645
DOI:10.1017/S002211208900025X