 Gyrotactic focusing in a downward pipe flow

For a bottom-heavy spherical swimmer in axial flow $u_z=W_0(-1+r^2+w)$, the bottom-heavy spherical-cell orientation dynamics with aligning rate $1/B$ gives $\sin \theta =-\lambda (2r+w^{\prime })$, $\lambda =B{W}_0/(2R)$. On the upward-stable branch $\cos \theta >0$, the cells tilt inward in a downward Poiseuille flow. Zero radial cell flux with scalar diffusivity gives $n^{\prime }=\chi n\sin \theta$, $\chi =V_{c}R/D$. For $w=0$, integration and the average normalization $2{\int }_0^{1}nrdr=1$ give the displayed concentration. A steady deterministic orientation requires $|\lambda (2r+w^{\prime })|<1$; beyond this shear threshold the stationary orientation closure fails.