Project description
Biological matter is often characterized by a degree of order emergent from the coordinated motion of self-propelled or active individuals. Such ordered states of active matter range from the microscopic scales of bacterial swarming and collective cell migration to the macroscopic scale of animal flocking, herding or schooling.
These active systems are often immersed in a fluid ambient where hydrodynamic interactions between active individuals play a key role in their self-organized collective dynamics. Accurate and predictive modelling of the underlying mechanisms of cooperative and collective behavior in active matter with and without hydrodynamic interactions is an open challenge.
This project is a theoretical and computational study of the swarming behavior of active particles in turbulent flows. We will develop different modelling approaches from individual-based to continuum hydrodynamic models that include the effect of turbulent transport on the collective dynamics.
The aim is to study the properties of the different emergent order and the duality between the flow eddies in the surrounding fluid and the topological defects formed in the ordered states of active matter.
The candidate will use Finite Element Methods and Lattice Boltzmann methods to solve numerically different models of active particles in turbulent flows.
Requirements
- MSc in physics, preferably in statistical, computational or condensed matter physics.
- Candidates with documented experience in scientific programming (solving non-linear PDE's, data analysis) or theoretical background in statistical physics will be prioritized.
Supervisors
Associate Professor Luiza Angheluta-Bauer
Professor Anders Malthe-Sørenssen
Call 1: Project start autumn 2021
This project is in call 1, starting autumn 2021. Read about how to apply