research article
Small Obstacle in a Large Polar Flock
May 23, 2022
We show that arbitrarily large polar flocks are susceptible to the presence of a single small obstacle. In a wide region of parameter space, the obstacle triggers counterpropagating dense bands leading to reversals of the flow. In very large systems, these bands interact, yielding a never-ending chaotic dynamics that constitutes a new disordered phase of the system. While most of these results were obtained using simulations of aligning self-propelled particles, we find similar phenomena at the continuous level, not when considering the basic Toner-Tu hydrodynamic theory, but in simulations of truncations of the relevant Boltzmann equation.
Type
research article
Web of Science ID
WOS:000808312500002
Author(s)
Date Issued
2022-05-23
Publisher
Published in
Volume
128
Issue
21
Article Number
218001
Subjects
Editorial or Peer reviewed
REVIEWED
Written at
EPFL
EPFL units
Available on Infoscience
July 4, 2022
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