Screened hydrodynamic interaction in a narrow channel

We study experimentally and theoretically the hydrodynamic coupling between Brownian colloidal particles diffusing along a linear channel. The quasi-one-dimensional confinement, unlike other constrained geometries, leads to a sharply screened interaction. Consequently, particles move in concert only...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2002-10
Main Authors: Cui, Bianxiao, Diamant, Haim, Lin, Binhua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coupling
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We study experimentally and theoretically the hydrodynamic coupling between Brownian colloidal particles diffusing along a linear channel. The quasi-one-dimensional confinement, unlike other constrained geometries, leads to a sharply screened interaction. Consequently, particles move in concert only when their mutual distance is smaller than the channel width, and two-body interactions remain dominant up to high particle densities. The coupling in a cylindrical channel is predicted to reverse sign at a certain distance, yet this unusual effect is too small to be currently detectable.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.0205386