Coordinated motion of active filaments on spherical surfaces

Abstract

The coordinated motion of active filaments, most notably cilia and flagella, are used by numerous micoorganisms and swimming cells to facilitate swimming. This Letter explores how the coordinated states of active filaments depend on the topology of the surface to which they are attached, as well as whether the surface is held fixed or free to move. Most notably, the Letter demonstrates that for spherical surfaces, the coordinated state changes dramatically when the sphere is released due to defect-induced alterations in filament motion.