Destabilization of a flow focused suspension of magnetotactic bacteria

Abstract

Active matter is a new class of material, intrinsically out-of equilibrium with intriguing properties. So far, the recent upsurge of studies has mostly focused on the spontaneous behavior of these systems --in the absence of external constraints or driving--. Yet, many real life systems evolve under constraints, being both submitted to flow and various taxis. In the present work, we demonstrate a new experimental system which opens up the way for quantitative investigations, and discriminating examinations, of the challenging theoretical description of such systems. We explore the behavior of magnetotactic bacteria as a particularly rich and versatile class of driven matter, which behavior can be studied under contrasting and contradicting stimuli. In particular we demonstrate that the competing driving of an orienting magnetic field and hydrodynamic flow lead not only to jetting, but also unveils a new pearling instability. This illustrates new structuring capabilities of driven active matter.