02335nas a2200325 4500008004100000022001400041245014400055210006900199300000800268490000600276520131600282653001801598653002401616653001801640653002301658653001601681653002401697653002501721653002501746100002501771700002101796700002301817700002201840700002101862700002501883700002201908700001701930700001901947856004301966 2020 eng d a2640-350100aMicroMotility: State of the art, recent accomplishments and perspectives on the mathematical modeling of bio-motility at microscopic scales0 aMicroMotility State of the art recent accomplishments and perspe a2300 v23 a

Mathematical modeling and quantitative study of biological motility (in particular, of motility at microscopic scales) is producing new biophysical insight and is offering opportunities for new discoveries at the level of both fundamental science and technology. These range from the explanation of how complex behavior at the level of a single organism emerges from body architecture, to the understanding of collective phenomena in groups of organisms and tissues, and of how these forms of swarm intelligence can be controlled and harnessed in engineering applications, to the elucidation of processes of fundamental biological relevance at the cellular and sub-cellular level. In this paper, some of the most exciting new developments in the fields of locomotion of unicellular organisms, of soft adhesive locomotion across scales, of the study of pore translocation properties of knotted DNA, of the development of synthetic active solid sheets, of the mechanics of the unjamming transition in dense cell collectives, of the mechanics of cell sheet folding in volvocalean algae, and of the self-propulsion of topological defects in active matter are discussed. For each of these topics, we provide a brief state of the art, an example of recent achievements, and some directions for future research.

10aactive matter10aadhesive locomotion10acell motility10acell sheet folding10aknotted DNA10atopological defects10aunicellular swimmers10aunjamming transition1 aAgostinelli, Daniele1 aCerbino, Roberto1 aDel Alamo, Juan, C1 aDeSimone, Antonio1 aHöhn, Stephanie1 aMicheletti, Cristian1 aNoselli, Giovanni1 aSharon, Eran1 aYeomans, Julia uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.3934/mine.202001100540nas a2200145 4500008004100000245010800041210006900149653002100218653003300239100002100272700002100293700002200314700002100336856003700357 2020 eng d00aMicroROM: An Efficient and Accurate Reduced Order Method to Solve Many-Query Problems in Micro-Motility0 aMicroROM An Efficient and Accurate Reduced Order Method to Solve10aFOS: Mathematics10aNumerical Analysis (math.NA)1 aGiuliani, Nicola1 aHess, Martin, W.1 aDeSimone, Antonio1 aRozza, Gianluigi uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2006.1383601781nas a2200157 4500008004100000022001400041245006600055210006600121260000800187300000700195490000700202520131900209100002601528700002201554856004701576 2016 eng d a1292-895X00aMotion planning and motility maps for flagellar microswimmers0 aMotion planning and motility maps for flagellar microswimmers cJul a720 v393 a

We study two microswimmers consisting of a spherical rigid head and a passive elastic tail. In the first one the tail is clamped to the head, and the system oscillates under the action of an external torque. In the second one, head and tail are connected by a joint allowing the angle between them to vary periodically, as a result of an oscillating internal torque. Previous studies on these models were restricted to sinusoidal actuations, showing that the swimmers can propel while moving on average along a straight line, in the direction given by the symmetry axis around which beating takes place. We extend these results to motions produced by generic (non-sinusoidal) periodic actuations within the regime of small compliance of the tail. We find that modulation in the velocity of actuation can provide a mechanism to select different directions of motion. With velocity-modulated inputs, the externally actuated swimmer can translate laterally with respect to the symmetry axis of beating, while the internally actuated one is able to move along curved trajectories. The governing equations are analysed with an asymptotic perturbation scheme, providing explicit formulas, whose results are expressed through motility maps. Asymptotic approximations are further validated by numerical simulations.

1 aCicconofri, Giancarlo1 aDeSimone, Antonio uhttps://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2016-16072-y01569nas a2200181 4500008004100000022001400041245006000055210005800115300001400173490000700187520100500194653001901199653002201218653002801240100002601268700002201294856007101316 2015 eng d a0020-746200aMotility of a model bristle-bot: A theoretical analysis0 aMotility of a model bristlebot A theoretical analysis a233 - 2390 v763 a

Bristle-bots are legged robots that can be easily made out of a toothbrush head and a small vibrating engine. Despite their simple appearance, the mechanism enabling them to propel themselves by exploiting friction with the substrate is far from trivial. Numerical experiments on a model bristle-bot have been able to reproduce such a mechanism revealing, in addition, the ability to switch direction of motion by varying the vibration frequency. This paper provides a detailed account of these phenomena through a fully analytical treatment of the model. The equations of motion are solved through an expansion in terms of a properly chosen small parameter. The convergence of the expansion is rigorously proven. In addition, the analysis delivers formulas for the average velocity of the robot and for the frequency at which the direction switch takes place. A quantitative description of the mechanism for the friction modulation underlying the motility of the bristle-bot is also provided.

10aBristle-robots10aCrawling motility10aFrictional interactions1 aCicconofri, Giancarlo1 aDeSimone, Antonio uhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002074621500002500621nas a2200157 4500008004100000245011600041210006900157260001700226300001400243490000700257100001500264700002300279700002200302700001800324856012100342 2013 eng d00aMacroscopic contact angle and liquid drops on rough solid surfaces via homogenization and numerical simulations0 aMacroscopic contact angle and liquid drops on rough solid surfac bEDP Sciences a837–8580 v471 aCacace, S.1 aChambolle, Antonin1 aDeSimone, Antonio1 aFedeli, Livio uhttps://math.sissa.it/publication/macroscopic-contact-angle-and-liquid-drops-rough-solid-surfaces-homogenization-and01914nas a2200145 4500008004100000020001800041245010100059210006900160260003100229520140500260653002201665100002301687700002201710856003601732 2012 en d a978160511380700aMathematical and numerical modeling of liquid crystal elastomer phase transition and deformation0 aMathematical and numerical modeling of liquid crystal elastomer  bCambridge University Press3 aLiquid crystal (in particular, nematic) elastomers consist of cross-linked flexible polymer chains with embedded stiff rod molecules that allow them to behave as a rubber and a liquid crystal. Nematic elastomers are characterized by a phase transition from isotropic to nematic past a temperature threshold. They behave as rubber at high temperature and show nematic behavior below the temperature threshold. Such transition is reversible. While in the nematic phase, the rod molecules are aligned along the direction of the "nematic director". This molecular rearrangement induces a stretch in the polymer chains and hence macroscopic spontaneous deformations. The coupling between nematic order parameter and deformation gives rise to interesting phenomena with a potential for new interesting applications. In the biological field, the ability to considerably change their length makes them very promising as artificial muscles actuators. Their tunable optical properties make them suitable, for example, as lenses for new imaging systems. We present a mathematical model able to describe the behavior of nematic elastomers and numerical simulations reproducing such peculiar behavior. We use a geometrically linear version of the Warner and Terentjev model [1] and consider cooling experiments and stretching experiments in the direction perpendicular to the one of the director at cross-linking.10aArtificial muscle1 aDe Luca, Mariarita1 aDeSimone, Antonio uhttp://hdl.handle.net/1963/702001329nas a2200169 4500008004100000022001400041245008700055210006900142260000800211300001400219490000700233520081100240100001801051700002201069700002201091856004601113 2011 eng d a1432-095900aMetastable equilibria of capillary drops on solid surfaces: a phase field approach0 aMetastable equilibria of capillary drops on solid surfaces a pha cSep a453–4710 v233 a

We discuss a phase field model for the numerical simulation of metastable equilibria of capillary drops resting on rough solid surfaces and for the description of contact angle hysteresis phenomena in wetting. The model is able to reproduce observed transitions of drops on micropillars from Cassie–Baxter to Wenzel states. When supplemented with a dissipation potential which describes energy losses due to frictional forces resisting the motion of the contact line, the model can describe metastable states such as drops in equilibrium on vertical glass plates. The reliability of the model is assessed by a detailed comparison of its predictions with experimental data on the maximal size of water drops that can stick on vertical glass plates which have undergone different surface treatments.

1 aFedeli, Livio1 aTurco, Alessandro1 aDeSimone, Antonio uhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00161-011-0189-6