Controlling stability and transport of magnetic microswimmers by an external field

Abstract

The interplay between external field and fluid-mediated interactions in active suspensions leads to patterns of collective motion that are poorly understood. Here, we study the hydrodynamic stability and transport of microswimmers with weak magnetic dipole moments in an external field using a kinetic theory framework. Combining linear stability analysis and non-linear 3D continuum simulations, we show that for sufficiently high activity and moderate magnetic field strengths, a homogeneous polar steady state is unstable and distinct types of splay and bend instabilities for puller and pusher swimmers emerge. The instabilities arise from the amplification of anisotropic hydrodynamic interactions due to the external alignment and lead to a partial depolarisation and a reduction of the average transport speed of the swimmers in the field direction. Interestingly, at higher field strengths the homogeneous polar state becomes stable and a transport efficiency identical to that of active particles without hydrodynamic interactions is restored.