Anders Peter Andersen, Department of Physics and Centre for Ocean Life, Technical University of Denmark

Complex Motion in Fluids

The research in the Complex Motion in Fluids Group at DTU Physics focuses currently on experimental and theoretical studies of the hydrodynamics of swimming and feeding of planktonic microorganisms, flows in plants, and instabilities and structures in free surface flows. In this talk, I will describe two ongoing projects in the group. First, I will present a framework to model kinematics and near-cell flows of unicellular organisms (flagellates) that swim using flagellar appendages with different arrangements and beat patterns. I will compare the model predictions with experimental results on freely swimming flagellates obtained in collaboration with marine ecologists at DTU Aqua. Secondly, I will present an experimental study of droplet trajectories and surface wave fields in a double-slit experiment with single wave-driven droplets of silicone oil that bounce on a vertically vibrated bath of the same liquid. I will discuss the relation of this entirely classical experiment to the celebrated double-slit experiment in quantum physics.