  The spreading of the virus-containing droplets exhaled during respiratory
events, e.g., cough, is an issue of paramount importance for the prevention of
many infections such as COVID-19. According to the scientific literature,
remarkable differences can be ascribed to several parameters that govern such
complex and multiphysical problem. Among these, a particular influence appears
associated with the different airflows typical of male and female subjects.
Focusing on a typical cough event, we investigate this aspect by means of
highly-resolved direct numerical simulations of the turbulent airflow in
combination with a comprehensive Lagrangian particle tracking model for the
droplet motion and evaporation. We observe and quantify major differences
between the case of male and female subjects, both in terms of the droplet
final reach and evaporation time. Our results can be associated with the
different characteristics in the released airflow and thus confirm the
influence of the subject gender (or other physical properties providing
different exhalation profiles) on both short-range and long-range airborne
transmission.
