SoftBio Theory Seminar: From Disorder to Order: How Flocks Form Against the Odds

10 Feb 2025
Seminars and colloquia
Time
-
Venue
Simpkins Lee Seminar Room
Beecroft Building, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU
Speaker(s)

Dr Thibault Bertrand, Imperial College

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Abstract

Flocking is a prime example of how robust collective behavior can emerge from simple interaction rules. The flocking transition has been studied extensively since the inception of the original Vicsek model but can still give rise to surprising and counterintuitive emergent phenomena. In this talk, we will review two recent examples. First, we will introduce a novel self-propelled particle model with quenched disorder in the pairwise alignment interaction couplings akin to those of a spin glass model. We show that the presence of quenched disorder can promote (rather than destroy) the emergence of global polar order to the point where flocking is possible even when a majority of the interaction couplings are anti-aligning. Secondly, while the dynamics of single-species self-propelled particle (SPP) systems have been well-studied [1], scattered results have emerged in the literature over the past few years in the case of binary mixtures of aligning SPPs. Here, we will discuss how we systematically study the rich phenomenology displayed by this system and systematically map out its various phase separations and co-existences.