Figure 7.
Vibrio cholerae model: angles between the free part of the flagellum and the surface (red) and the cell head and the surface (blue). From top to bottom row: Lfree/LT = 0, so the flagellum is completely adhered to surface; Lfree/LT = 0.3; Lfree/LT = 0.7; Lfree/LT = 1, so the flagellum is adhered only by the point at its end and is completely free to rotate but cannot translate. From left column to right column: α = 0.05, α = 2.5, α = 25, where α is the ratio of the head spring constant and the flagellar motor torque.