Emergent flocking in mixtures of antialigning self-propelled particles
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We observe a flocking mechanism, the emergence of a state with global polar order, in mixed systems of self-propelled particles with purely antialigning interactions, i.e., the ground state for any pair of particles is to be opposedly oriented. In binary mixtures, we find that flocking can be realized by cross-species antialigning that is dominant compared to intraspecies antialignment. While the key mechanism can be understood within a mean-field description, beyond mean-field we develop an asymptotically exact Boltzmann-scattering theory from first principles. This theory yields analytical predictions for the flocking transition and shows excellent quantitative agreement with simulations of dilute systems. For large systems, we find either microphase separation or static patterns with patches or stripes that carry different polarization orientations.
Source: Physical review. E
Authors: Rüdiger Kürsten, Jakob Mihatsch, Thomas Ihle
Institutions: Universität Greifswald, Universitat de Barcelona
Language: English
Topic: Micro and Nano Robotics
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4407840816