Speaker
Description
Topological defects are increasingly being identified in various biological systems, where their
characteristic flow fields and stress patterns are associated with continuous active stress generation
by biological entities. Here, using numerical simulations of continuum fluctuating nematohydrody-
namics we show that even in the absence of any activity, both noise in orientational alignment and
hydrodynamic fluctuations can independently result in flow patterns around topological defects that
resemble the ones observed in active systems. Remarkably, hydrodynamic or orientational fluctuations alone can
reproduce the experimentally measured stress patterns around topological defects in epithelia. We further highlight subtle differences between noise in orientation and hydrodynamic fluctuations based on defect trajectories and persistence time. Our simulations show the possibility of both extensile-
and contractile-like defect motion due to fluctuations and reveal the defining role of passive elastic
stresses in establishing fluctuation-induced defect flows and stresses.
| Field of study | Biophysics |
|---|---|
| Supervisor | Amin Doostmohammadi |
