Dynamics and sorting of run-and-tumble particles in fluid flows with transport barriers

Abstract

We investigate the dynamics of individual run-and-tumble particles in a convective flow which is a prototype of fluid flows with transport barriers. We consider the most prevalent case of swimmers denser than the background fluid. As a result of gravity and the effects of the carrying flow, in the absence of swimming the particles either sediment or remain in a convective cell. When run-and-tumble also takes place, the particles may move to upper convective cells. We derive analytically the probability of uprise. Since that probability in a given fluid flow can vary strongly across species, our findings inspire a purely dynamical mechanism for species extraction in the dilute regime. Numerical simulations support our analytical predictions and demonstrate that a judicious choice of the fluid flow’s parameters can lead to particle sorting with an arbitrary degree of purity.