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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 29: Poster: Active Fluids

CPP 29.2: Poster

Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 17:30–19:00, Poster C

Interface turbulence in thin liquid films produced by active surfactant — •Sergio Alonso¹ and Alexander S. Mikhailov² — ¹Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Berlin, Germany — ²Fritz-Haber-Institut, Berlin, Germany

We consider the case of floating protein machines in a thin liquid film. In this case the propulsion forces are applied to the interface and the asymmetry of the air-water interface produces the alignment of the particles in one direction. By the use of a mesoscopic model for the concentration of the protein machines, we show that the flat interface becomes linearly unstable when the rate of energy supply to the machines exceeds a threshold. Under such conditions an interface turbulence can be observed, characterized by irregular traveling waves and propagating machine clusters. Numerical investigations of this nonlinear regime are performed.