20 research outputs found
Buckling of elastic filaments by discrete magnetic moments
We study the buckling of an idealized, semiflexible filament along whose
contour magnetic moments are placed. {We give analytic expressions for the
critical stiffness of the filament below which it buckles due to the magnetic
compression. For this, we consider various scenarios of the attachment of the
magnetic particles to the filament. One possible application for this model are
the magnetosome chains of magnetotactic bacteria. An estimate of the critical
bending stiffness indicates that buckling may occur within the range of
biologically relevant parameters and suggests a role for the bending stiffness
of the filament to stabilize the filament against buckling, which would
compromise the functional relevance of the bending stiffness of the used
filament.Comment: accepted for publication in EPJ