Active swarms on a sphere

We show that coupling to curvature nontrivially affects collective motion in active systems, leading to motion patterns not observed in flat space. Using numerical simulations, we study a model of self-propelled particles with polar alignment and soft repulsion confined to move on the surface of a s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics, 2015-02, Vol.91 (2), p.022306-022306, Article 022306
Main Authors: Sknepnek, Rastko, Henkes, Silke
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer Simulation
Models, Theoretical
Motion
Pressure
Surface Properties
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Summary:We show that coupling to curvature nontrivially affects collective motion in active systems, leading to motion patterns not observed in flat space. Using numerical simulations, we study a model of self-propelled particles with polar alignment and soft repulsion confined to move on the surface of a sphere. We observe a variety of motion patterns with the main hallmarks being polar vortex and circulating band states arising due to the incompatibility between spherical topology and uniform motion-a consequence of the "hairy ball" theorem. We provide a detailed analysis of density, velocity, pressure, and stress profiles in the circulating band state. In addition, we present analytical results for a simplified model of collective motion on the sphere showing that frustration due to curvature leads to stable elastic distortions storing energy in the band.
ISSN:1539-3755
1550-2376
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevE.91.022306